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Vol. 116 No. 24 | June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025
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MAYORAL CANDIDATES ON GUN VIOLENCE (See coverage on page 2)
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Here’s how the Democratic mayoral candidates would combat gun violence
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By SHANNON CHAFFERS Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff The pandemic-era spike in gun violence pushed the issue front and center during New York City’s 2021 Democratic mayoral primary race. With rates of gun violence in the city declining in the last three years, issues like housing affordability and subway safety have commanded more attention this primary cycle. But the violence remains a key concern among residents of communities where it is concentrated, in under-resourced, largely Black and Brown neighborhoods that have faced decades of disinvestment. How would the slate of Democratic mayoral candidates combat gun violence if elected? The AmNews reviewed the public safety plans of these candidates and talked to some of them to understand how they would approach gun violence prevention if they became mayor. Community-based solutions The next mayor will inherit a patchwork of city-funded violence prevention programs active in high violence neighborhoods across the city. The most prominent of those is the city’s Crisis Management System (CMS). Over the past decade, CMS’s budget grew from $4.8 million to almost $100 million. The system is designed to reduce violence by funding communitybased organizations to hire violence interrupters who mediate neighborhood conflicts and connect those at risk for participating in violence with resources to steer them away from illegal activity. A recent report by the City Comptroller’s Office, led by mayoral candidate Brad Lander, found that police precincts with a CMS group saw a 20% reduction in shootings compared to what would be expected if the program did not exist. But only 29 out of 77 total precincts have active CMS groups, and the report found that the system suffers from administrative issues, such as a lack of access to real time data and delayed payments to organizations.
Many candidates have proposed expanding the NYPD as part of their violence reduction strategy. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Some candidates have seized on this potential for reform and expansion. State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, currently polling in second place, has proposed a 275% increase in CMS funding. “At the heart of this [approach] is an understanding of gun violence as a public health crisis,” Mamdani said. The investment would be used to double funding for existing CMS programs, expand the system into other high-violence neighborhoods, and increase resources for violence interrupters. CMS would be moved into a new Department of Community Safety, where it would sit along with a host of other community-based public safety efforts. The new department would have a total budget of $1.1 billion. New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams has also pledged to increase investment in the CMS system. Her plan calls for expanding or adding capacity to the 20 police precincts with the highest rates of violent crime, and adding programs to the precincts above the 50th percentile of violent crime rates if they don’t already have one. She has also proposed piloting a subway-based CMS program.
“While the exact investment will depend on the scale of expansion, the cost is justified by the potential to save lives and reduce long-term societal costs associated with gun violence,” Adams said via email. Lander said he supports an expansion of CMS to more neighborhoods with violence hotspots, and will implement reforms to address the administrative challenges highlighted by the Comptroller report. State Senator Zellnor Myrie, former state assemblymember Michael Blake, and former investor Whitney Tilson all said in interviews that they support increasing the funding of the CMS system, though they did not provide specific plans. Iesha Sekou, CEO of Street Corner Resources, a CMS organization in Harlem, said that more funding would make a significant impact. “Rather than have one site having to run all over the place, outside of their catchment [area], to address beef, which makes it very tiring and traumatic for those who do this work, it would be great to be able to expand, with greater funding, the number of sites in the hot spot areas so that we can directly address the shootings… in a more cohesive way,” she said.
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025 • 3
Iesha Sekou (center), CEO of the violence prevention organization Street Corner Resources, welcomes candidate proposals for added investment in the Crisis Management System. (Photo Courtesy of Street Corner Resources)
Jeffrey Butts, a professor at John Jay College who has studied CMS’s impact, said that research supports continued investment. But he said it is difficult to predict the exact effect an expansion would have on shooting rates, and that it would depend on the implementation. “The effect of an actual specific expansion is really hard to say, because it’s like [asking], ‘does teaching work?’ Well, sure, it can work, but there are a lot of people who claim to be teachers that aren’t very good, and it’s just really hard to nail all the details down,” he explained. Other candidates have made less concrete commitments to the expansion of CMS. Former New York City Comptroller and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s safety plan does not include proposals for CMS. He explained in an interview that he is open to further investment for CMS and other community-based prevention efforts, but would like to carry out a review of the programs to identify which are working best. “You have to measure, are these programs actually working? And my sense is some are doing very well, but others aren’t. We need to have a transparent approach to see what works and what doesn’t,” he said. Selma Bartholomew also said she is open to an expansion of CMS, but that her focus would be less on individual programs and more on creating healthier ecosystems. She has proposed an approach that assesses the resources available in each zip code to improve the quality of life of New Yorkers. “We first need to be able to communicate across New York City, what is avail-
A recent report by the City Comptroller’s Office, led by mayoral candidate Brad Lander, found that police precincts with a CMS group saw a 20% reduction in shootings compared to what would be expected if the program did not exist. But only 29 out of 77 total precincts have active CMS groups, and the report found that the system suffers from administrative issues, such as a lack of access to real time data and delayed payments to organizations. able, what is working, what programs, what organizations are doing this work? And to then be able to strategically elevate and lift this work,” she said. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, currently the frontrunner in the race, does not specify investment for CMS in his public safety plan. Campaign spokesperson Esther Jensen did say over email that he “strongly supports” anti-violence programs, and will continue to invest in them, however. The role of law enforcement Cuomo said he would prioritize law enforcement efforts to reduce crime, includ-
ing hiring 5,000 more NYPD officers. The NYPD currently has an operating budget of $5.8 billion, with about 33,500 uniformed officers out of a budgeted headcount of 35,000. “While he recognizes that social and economic issues contribute to gun violence, Cuomo’s immediate priority as Mayor is to restore order and public safety, because that is the foundation we need to address the deeper, systemic problems facing our city,” Jensen said. Lander, Myrie, Stringer, Blake, Tilson, and Adrienne Adams also say they would hire more police officers if elected. Lander
wants to hire 1,500 officers, Adams plans to hire 2,400, and Stringer has set a goal for 3,000. Myrie will target the 2018 headcount of 36,600. Tilson and Blake have also set a target to reach pre-pandemic levels of staffing, with Tilson saying he would expand the current force by 10%. In contrast, Mamdani does not plan to hire more police officers, explaining that his Department of Community Safety will reduce the workload of the NYPD, allowing them to focus on more serious crimes. Bartholomew is also not interested in hiring more police officers. “I don’t think that it’s so much about the police, the number of the police, that’s going to shift the culture in New York City,” she said. Butts said he was skeptical of plans that prioritize hiring more officers over other public safety investments. “We tend to underfund everything and then believe that all problems can be solved by increasing police power,” he said. “If you think that part of public safety is reliable food supply, safe housing, neighborhoods that are active, people that have support for trying to raise children … then you start reducing the extent to which you think you need to hire police officers.” When it comes to combating gun violence specifically, strategies like hotspot policing — surging officers to blocks with high rates of violence — and a focus on improving clearance rates are popular proposals among the candidates. Myrie has set a “north star” goal of solving 100% of shootings that take place in See GUN VIOLENCE on page 36
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THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado chats about why he’s running against Hochul By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News staff reporter By JASON EVAN PONTEROTTO Special to the AmNews “Where’s the syrup?” asks Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado over lunch at Amy Ruth’s in Harlem this past Friday, June 6. He kicked off his campaign to primary Gov. Kathy Hochul in next year’s gubernatorial election just four days prior, all the while retaining his responsibilities as the state’s second-highest official. But chicken-andwaffles (all dark meat) makes up everything on his plate for the afternoon. Delgado officially announced his candidacy on June 2 in a rare move for a sitting Lieutenant Governor. His frayed relationship with former running mate Gov. Hochul came under scrutiny earlier this year when he announced he would not seek re-election alongside her. They don’t interact much anymore, he says. “I’m unsatisfied,” said Delgado. “I feel like the status quo is broken. People are really hurting and we need better leadership — I think New York deserves better leadership.” He initially envisioned serving as a “partner in the process of governance” when Hochul tapped him to replace predecessor Brian Benjamin in 2022. Delgado now believes he can only push his legislative priorities as the state’s top official, rather than
standing next to her. If elected, he would become New York’s second Black governor. Unlike Benjamin, Delgado does not hail from Harlem. In fact, uptown is downtown from his hometown of Schenectady. Yet he believes his housing, healthcare, and childcare proposals will resonate most with working-class Black neighborhoods in New York City. “There’s public dollars that are meant to create economic development in our communities like Harlem,” said Delgado. “And it doesn’t seem like it’s truly reaching the community. It feels like the money gets put out there, but we never see the impact in a way that actually meaningfully affects the people in the community.” His economic agenda includes raising the minimum wage, fixing the opaque budget process, and raising the top corporate tax rate. Some solutions overlap with Hochul’s platform. Her statewide minimum wage increase hit municipalities outside of the city this year, and she raised the corporate tax rate to fund the MTA. But his agenda also argues Hochul’s middle-class tax cut in the recent budget –– which will reduce state taxes for more than 75% of New Yorkers starting next year –– does not do enough. Delgado argues median earners would “only receive about $15 in tax relief per month while most of the benefits go to the wealthiest New Yorkers.”
Caption: Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado stands in front of a mural at Amy Ruth’s restaurant in Harlem on Friday, June 6. (Tandy Lau photo)
Though establishing a statewide rental assistance program and cracking down on corporate landlords, Delgado’s housing plan aims to ensure housing costs do not surpass 30% or more of any New Yorker’s income. He argues the governor is doubling down on “a failed strategy of tax credits and subsidies for developers.” Hochul extended the 421-a tax incentive last year, giving developers a property tax exemption for building multiple dwellings. Delgado’s “vision for New York” also in-
cludes universal healthcare and universal child care proposals. His plan promises shifting reliance away from insurance companies and an Office of Healthcare Accountability to take on corporate greed among private healthcare providers. He also proposes to “finish the job” on universal pre-K, given “the reality in many parts of the state is too few seats, too little funding, and no guarantee of full-day programs.” An official public safety plan remains a See DELGADO on page 27
The fight against solitary confinement continues a decade after Kalief Browder’s death By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News staff reporter Calls for Local Law 42’s full implementation rang across the Civic Center as the city government’s court battle over Mayor Eric Adam’s attempt to block the solitary ban raged on this past Friday, June 6. The date marks ten years since Kalief Browder took his life following two years in solitary confinement and a day before six years since Layleen Xtravaganza CubilettePolanco died in a Restrictive Housing Unit. “I’m really tired of holding signs with people’s names who are no longer with us,” said #HALTSolitary organizer Anisah Sabur. “Why? Because our system decides to use a practice of torture, torment and death.” Kalief’s brother Akeem Browder was slated to join but encountered travel issues according to the organizers. The advocates demonstrated outside the Supreme Court of New York where a federal court would hear oral arguments over Adams’ use of emergency provisions to delay Local Law 42’s implementation. He previously vetoed the bill but a city council supermajority overruled him. Browder’s death at age 22 galvanized criminal justice reforms on the city, state, and federal levels.Held on Rikers at age 16, he faced charges for a stolen backpack he maintained innocence for. His three-year imprisonment subjected
the young Black New Yorker to regressive discovery laws, high bail costs, trauma-inducing solitary confinement and dangerous jail conditions —- ostensibly every facet of the city’s broken carceral system. His charges were ultimately dropped and he committed suicide around a year after release. The Adams administration maintains the city does not practice solitary confinement in its jails. The United Nations’ Mandela Laws define the practice as 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human interaction. However, other forms of separation can cause similar health and mental health conditions stemming from solitude. Other laws tied to Browder face stiff resistance on a state-level, most notably the bail and discovery reform laws implemented in 2020. New York State eliminated cash bail for most nonviolent and lower-level offenses. Browder’s case inspired the legislation after his family could not afford the $3,000 bail to release him from pretrial detention. He was also prevented from accessing the state’s evidence against him during his incarceration due to New York’s “blindfold” laws. Discovery reform, named Kalief’s Law with Akeem Browder’s permission, now strictly enforces evidence-sharing between prosecutors and defendants to ensure a fair trial. However, the state has already modified both laws since enactment. Bail reform remains maligned for crime and recidivism
#HALTSolitary’s Anisah Sabur (center) speaks against solitary confinement during a rally 10 years after Kalief Browder’s death. (Courtesy of The Bronx Defenders)
despite evidence showing the contrary. As a result, several amendments expand the ability for a judge to set cash bail although the law largely remains intact. Earlier this year, the final state budget included amendments to discovery reform after pushback from prosecutors. Layleen Xtravaganza Cubilette-Polanco died on Rikers in 2019 while held on $500
bail. She was held in a “punitive segregation” unit which advocates say is ostensibly solitary confinement and would be banned under Local Law 42. Legal Aid Society intern Kennedy Felder, who was held on Rikers Island with Polanco and is also transgender, recounted her time in solitary confinement as inhumane.
See SOLITARY CONFINEMENTon page 27
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025 • 5
Brodie Enoch’s journey from addiction and loss to CUNY law degree By JASON PONTEROTTO Special to the AmNews At age 66, longtime Harlemite Brodie Enoch has continued to defy all odds. Despite being legally blind and dealing with struggles throughout his adult life, he has pushed forward as both a devoted activist and father. Having just graduated from CUNY Law with a JD, he looks to effect as much change on issues affecting the most vulnerable in the city as possible. “I just want to be there for someone who may not believe that they have a chance, a choice, or even just a voice,” Enoch said. In the last 20 years, Enoch has worked on several initiatives, such as rights for the visually impaired, homelessness, fair wages, and voter participation, with groups such as Hope Community; Picture the Homeless, one of the first organizations that spoke out against stop and frisk; the Working Families Party; and Transportation Alternatives. He also founded the Harlem Alliance of Advocates for the Blind, known as the 145th Street Alliance, which focuses on pedestrian safety, economic access, and civil rights protections for the blind. Born in Harlem and later raised in the Bronx, his household was one of activism and engagement. His mother, a community organizer, helped found the first food pantry in Harlem, and his father was a business owner in Harlem. As a child, Enoch at-
Black
New Yorker
Brodie Enoch (Photo courtesy of CUNY Law School)
tended the March on Washington in 1963. He says Harlem was always in his blood, and he eventually moved back as an adult. As an adult, Enoch was involved in a number of business ventures, including opening up a nightclub, called The Beat, in Lower Manhattan, as well as real estate. Unfortunately, during this time of the crack cocaine epidemic, Enoch began a battle with addiction in the late 1980s and would struggle with it for several years. He says it cost him everything, from his home to his wife at the time and all his business endeavours.
It was in 2003, while still struggling and living in a shelter, that Enoch began his journey toward activism and turning his life around. After meeting Anita Graham, from the organization Community Voices Heard, who spoke about inequity in housing at the shelter facility, he decided to get involved and connected with the group. He says they allowed him to take part in leadership roles such as leading campaigns and rallies. From there, he would join Picture the Homeless and become a board member. Having been sober for 17 years, since 2007, he says it was coming out of his struggle when he realized how much needed to change about inequity for the most vulnerable in society. “When I came out of the fog, I realized that it was housing, access to a fair education, access to fair living, healthcare, green spaces, healthy foods — all these things that should have been there,” Enoch said. “That’s how I got into this; just by being in the fog and not having access to anything and coming out of it asking why.” It was also around this time that he started to lose his sight and would require assistance. He would use that experience to further his drive for justice in establishing the 145th Street Alliance. “I realized how difficult it was for me as a blind person,” he said. “I started that because I felt alone.” He later connected with the American Council for the Blind and the New York State Commission for the Blind, which also helped
put him through school. In 2013, Enoch ran for City Council. Although his bid was unsuccessful, he was even more motivated coming out of it. “I didn’t win, but it opened my eyes again. I was losing my vision, but I saw there was a place for me, and I decided at that point to go back to school,” he said. In 2016, he enrolled at City College of New York and graduated with his bachelor’s degree. He would later receive his master’s from Fordham University and finally get his law degree from CUNY in May, through the Pipeline to Justice program. A father of four children, three of whom are adults and one who is 7, Enoch says his family has supported and encouraged him in his educational journey. “I consider myself lucky because I made it through,” he said. “If I had to go through it again to have my children, then I would go through it again.” He also credits his close best friends, going back to the Bronx, who helped him come out of his worst struggles with addiction. Among his other roles, Enoch serves on the board for the Central Harlem Senior Citizens Center and New York Independent Living Counsel. Now, newly graduated with his law degree, he looks to work in human rights law. “I feel as if there is so much to do, there is so much I can give. For so long, I took. Now it’s time to give.”
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Ex-lawyer convicted of deed theft; faces September sentencing By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff A disbarred attorney has been found guilty of unlawfully obtaining the property deeds of Black and Brown homeowners in Brooklyn. Sanford “Sandy” Solny was tried and convicted in Downtown Brooklyn for stealing 11 residential properties and defrauding a total of 15 victims. The office of Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez charged him with employing a real estate fraud scheme that, between 2012 and 2022, promised to assist financially distressed homeowners. Though he promised to facilitate short sales and prevent foreclosures, Solny instead transferred the property deeds from homeowners who came to him to 11 different companies under his management. During this period, he collected rent on these properties while allowing the original homeowners to continue facing foreclosure. Following a bench trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on Thursday, June 5, the 68-year-old Solny was found guilty of 13 counts of third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, three counts of firstdegree scheme to defraud, and one count of third-degree grand larceny. Mandatory jail time After the guilty verdict, the district attorney’s office argued that Solny should be imprisoned until sentencing. They contended that Solny was a flight risk because
Rachel Cyprien of the Black Homeowners Preservation Coalition stands with Gaoussou Ouedraogo and Patrice Sawadogo outside Brooklyn’s Supreme Court on June 5. Ouedraogo and Sawadogo lost property due to real estate schemes by convicted attorney Sanford “Sandy” Solny and are now seeking their return. (Karen Juanita Carrillo photo)
he owns a total of 240 properties that could easily be monetized and used to fund his escape. “He is a 68-year-old disbarred attorney who has been committing fraud for 20 years now,” an assistant D.A. explained to the judge. “There is no reason to believe –– even though we can say he showed up every day for this trial –– now that he is facing mandatory jail time, that he will return. If I were a 68-yearold disbarred attorney, I would have questions of whether I would return for mandatory jail time.” But Judge Chun allowed Solny to remain free until he is sentenced on September 17. The judge said that Solny should keep in mind that he currently faces between three and a half to seven years in prison, but if he tries to flee the country, once he is caught, Judge Chun would feel obligated to see that he faces a longer prison sentence: “It would be dozens of years in jail,” Judge Chun said. “So that would be more than enough incentive for the defendant not to flee.” Preyed on Brooklyn homeowners Solny, who lives in Midwood, Brooklyn, had his law license suspended in 2012; he was disbarred in 2023. The 11 properties he committed deed theft on were from homeowners in neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant, East Flatbush, Canarsie, East New York, and Ocean Hill. District Attorney Gonzalez said of the case, “This defendant didn’t just steal homes — he stole stability, equity, and the future that these families worked hard
to build. He preyed on Brooklyn homeowners already in crisis, including a nurse, cab driver, and home health aide, by posing as a trusted advisor. This sentence makes clear that we will not allow fraudsters to exploit vulnerable New Yorkers or profit from a housing crisis and highlights my office’s success in prosecuting deed theft.” The D.A.’s office has said that it will reverse the 11 fraudulent deeds Solny executed and give ownership back to his victims. Still, even more homeowners who say they were victimized by Solny’s real estate fraud schemes are also looking for justice. Their cases were not included in this trial. Gaoussou Ouedraogo and Patrice Sawadogo, from Burkina Faso, fell victim to Solny’s schemes. They were present in the courtroom when the former attorney was convicted. The two said they plan on finding legal help and re-establishing claims to the two houses Solny stole from them. As the AmNews sat outside the court speaking with Solny’s victims, the former attorney solemnly left the courtroom with his defense attorney, family members, and a court officer. One Solny victim yelled out to him “You’re a piece of sh*t!” as he walked by. That enraged Solny’s wife. She quickly turned and feigned as if she was going to pounce on the woman who’d said it. “I wish you would,” the woman told Solny’s wife. The two women screamed at each other, but no physical confrontation followed. Then Solny and his supporters continued their walk toward the exits.
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Stop + frisk monitor: Secretive NYPD unit overwhelmingly stops Black and Brown people By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News staff reporter The Community Response Team (CRT) announced itself to the world in 2022 — not by press conference or an official launch — but through a now-unlisted YouTube short titled “True Blue: NYPD’s Finest.” “Viewer discretion is advised,” warns a gravely male narrator before the video breaks into dramatic action sequences captured on body-camera footage. CRT rushes onto the scene. An officer drags a suspect off an ATV. Another tends to a bloodied individual sitting in a car’s front seat. Think “Cops” without the reggae. But a recent review of the unit’s bodycamera footage by the city’s independent stop-and-frisk monitor portrayed the CRT as less action movie-esque. The findings concluded significantly higher rates of unconstitutional encounters than the average NYPD patrol officer based on the sample size of recordings, as shown in the chart below: Percentage Rate of Lawful Stops, Frisks, and Searches (based on report) Stops
Frisks
Searches
NYPD Patrol
92%
89%
77%
CRT
84%
A police officer wears a newly issued body camera outside the 34th precinct, Thursday, April 27, 2017, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
64%
59%
Twenty-Fifth Report of the Independent Monitor The monitor’s report also found racial disparities from a smaller sample size. In the 78 traffic stops reviewed, 89% of the motorists were Black or Hispanic. The monitor also reviewed 21 non-vehicular encounters involving members of the public and found that 86% of the individuals stopped by CRT were Black and Hispanic. Findings from the report stem from an audit of 100 body-worn camera videos from the CRT roster provided by the NYPD to the monitor last October, which contained 186 uniformed officers including 134 on the line-level. The footage all occurred between Oct. 28, 2024 and Nov. 24, 2024. Khakis uniquely worn by CRT personnel were used to confirm the officers belonged in the unit. While stops based on the probable cause of a traffic violation is lawful, the encounter can still violate the Fourth Amendment if the individual is detained for an excessive amount of time or a frisk is conducted without consent or reasonable suspicion of a weapon. During the review, the monitor also looked specifically at 50 level 2 stops, which allow officers to ask accusatory questions, request a search and do not re-
quire filling out a report. Seven encounters labeled as level 2 stops were actually level 3 stops — better known as Terry stops or stop-and-frisks — which require reasonable suspicion and a report for each person stopped. 35 of the reviewed level 2 stops were traffic stops and all of them ended in searches. No contraband was found. Fewer than half ended with the officers issuing a traffic citation. Every person stopped in the 35 level 2 traffic stops and 15 non-traffic stops was Black or Hispanic. Conflating the level 2 and level 3 stops can be particularly dangerous. Individuals can legally walk away at any time from a level 2 but are detained under a level 3. In 2024, city council passed the “How Many Stops Act” which mandates documentation of level 1 and 2 stops. Lastly, the monitor looked at 50 stop reports. Almost all stemmed from officers self-initiating a Criminal Possession of a Weapon (CPW) stop. Every individual stopped was Black or Brown when the reports identified the individual’s race. Nine encounters from the stop reports ended in an arrest, all for CPW. Several class action lawsuits over the past decade led to a federal judge installing the NYPD monitor and mandating reforms including a body-worn camera pilot. Notably, Floyd v. City of New York found the city liable for violating the Fourth and Four-
teenth Amendment with the police department’s stop-and-frisk practices targeting Black and Brown New Yorkers. “The latest report from the Monitor is further evidence that the NYPD, rather than addressing ongoing racial profiling and illegal stops by its officers, is instead moving back to its old practices of creating specialized ‘units’ with unclear purposes but clear and immediate disparate racial impacts,” said Celine Zhu, an attorney at Floyd class co-counsel Center for Constitutional Rights over email. “These types of units have always engaged in aggressive stop-andfrisk tactics in NYC. Instead of doubling down on the disproven theory of ‘broken windows policing’ the NYPD should be putting resources toward ending racial profiling within its ranks.” Back in 2023, the monitor began looking into CRT due to a lack of transparency. The NYPD maintained the then-pilot program would address quality-of-life concerns rather than “routinely” engage in stop-and-frisks. CRT first came under official scrutiny last November when the Office of the Inspector General-NYPD (OIG-NYPD) looked into the lack of public information about the unit. In fact, most knowledge came from the “True Blue: NYPD’s Finest” video and a tweet from then-NYPD deputy commissioner Kaz Daughtry (and now deputy mayor of public safety) about fallen officer
Jonathan Diller, who served in CRT. “The CRT is a specialized team of highly trained officers whose mission it is to restore order,” wrote Daughtry on March 26, 2024. “This work often involves addressing those quality of life conditions that disrupt our way of life and diminish our collective safety. Many of these offenses also escalate into other, more dangerous crimes.” But what “quality of life” exactly entails remains unknown. CRT does not generally respond to 911 or 311 complaints for issues like noise or illegally parked cars based on the monitor’s findings as 96% of the reviewed stops were self-initiated by the officers. “Quality of life has normally been invoked as some sort of vague or pretextual notion to engage in really problematic policing behavior,” said John Cusick, assistant counsel for the NAACP LDF, which represents plaintiffs in Davis, another monitorship case. “And here, that same term was used…there are no clear rules or limits to effectively oversee what CRT is doing based on [the OIG-NYPD’s] report. When you don’t have guidance, you have a very vaguely defined ‘quality of life.’” This past April, the NYPD agreed to almost all recommendations made by the OIG-NYPD, including providing a CRT mission statement and including information about the unit on the police department’s website. A follow-up report on implementation will come out next year.
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS C O M M U N I T Y
June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025 • 9
Divine Nine News Jordan’s House: Divine Nine member honors daughter by creating safe space where young men are positioned to thrive KAYLYN KENDALL DINES, MBA Jordan White moved through life with a warm smile, energy that radiated in any space she entered, and an intelligent mind that got her accepted to William Paterson University and made her dad proud. That is how Dr. Altarik B. White, Sr., a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., remembers his daughter, the cheerleader and dancer whose favorite color was pink. The elder White, who is founder and executive director of Leaders for Life, Inc., a nonprofit organization in Newark, NJ, recalled his “forever baby girl.” She died three years ago at age 20 after a bout with and diagnosis of neurofibromatosis, a group of genetic conditions that causes tumors to grow on nerves. He still tries to understand how Jordan handled illness with such poise, grace, and uncanny strength right until the end of her young life. When asked what he would say to Jordan today, White said, “I did open up a group home for boys in your honor. It’s called Jordan’s House. Your legacy will live on. It gives 16- to 25-year-old young men an opportu-
nity to live and go to school and go to work and not worry about having a place to stay. It’s a transitional home where we will support young people in their efforts to better their lives. It’s in honor of Jordan White.” Jordan’s House opened officially with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 23. Ideally, White said, each resident will live in the home for six to eight months and some may stay longer. Although he initially self-funded Jordan’s House, White believes continued local and state support will be essential for helping residents thrive in the 12-bed transitional living facility. “We wanted to help young men who attend Leaders for Life Academy Alternative High School stabilize themselves, stabilize their lives,” and plan for a productive future, he said. Residents must be enrolled in school or have a job. Counseling is available to help residents become self-sufficient. White confirmed that Jordan’s House is open to young men who are not students at Leaders for Life. The home has around-the-clock supervision by Jordan’s House residential coordinators.
Altarik White, Sr. is flanked by his children, Altarik White, Jr. and Jordan White.
Kitchen in Jordan’s House. (Photos courtesy of Altarik White)
Jordan White in younger years.
Now that Lasana Bamba and Faco Camara have moved into their new home, they have chores, life skills sessions, money management sessions, and rules to follow. In the grocery store, they push the cart and select products. At home, they are responsible for maintaining the house and washing their clothes. With great grades and an impressive attendance record, Bamba, 19, is looking forward to college after he graduates from Leaders for Life (LFL) in the City of Newark this month and is more focused than he has ever been. He credits his “village” at LFL for helping him pivot and overcome the challenges he faced in life: his mother, Mr. White, staff at his school, and co-workers in the construction industry. At one point, Bamba didn’t have plans to finish school. Bamba will graduate on June 20 and is excited about the future. His mindset is, “No distractions. Just focus.” After college and trade school, he has his sights on business with a focus on real estate, carpentry, and construction. Camara, 19, also graduated from LFL in 2023 and “I’m going to college next month at Saint Elizabeth University” on a scholarship, he said while standing on the front steps of Jordan’s House during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. White, who also has an 18-year-old
son, understands what it’s like to be a young man in need of a place to stay. He remembers being homeless for six weeks at age 15 because the home where he lived — his grandmother’s house — felt too crowded. He looks out for young people. Three years ago, a 17-year-old female came to White, saying that she felt unsafe living with her older boyfriend. She had nowhere to go, so she endured the sexual abuse from her boyfriend. White, who wants to establish a transitional home for girls in the future, took action and reached out to Michael Bright, president and CEO of the YMCA of Newark and Vicinity, and she obtained housing and returned to school. This is one example of why Bamba said that White is “loyal and he always wants to help people.” Bamba noted that White can be a strict disciplinarian, because he cares. Bamba wants future residents to take care of Jordan’s House. “Don’t take it for granted and don’t bring no trouble to the house. Keep it clean and we’re all going to be good.” Asked “What else would you say to Jordan now?” White paused while tearfully reflecting on his daughter and said, “Just remember that I love you. I miss you. And I hope that I made you proud. Love you, baby.”
To share your Divine Nine News, please contact us at d9@amsterdamnews.com and at amsterdamnews.com/d9news
10 • June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Union Matters Labor unions voice their mayoral, comptroller candidate support By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff Labor unions have announced their endorsements for the mayoral and comptroller candidates they believe will best represent their members. Democratic Party primary elections in New York City are scheduled for June 24, while the Republican Party –– which has selected Curtis Sliwa as its mayoral candidate –– will not hold a primary, and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams runs for re-election as an independent. Major polling sites show former Governor Andrew Cuomo slightly ahead of Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani in the upcoming Democratic Party primary. A survey conducted by RacetotheWH and posted on June 4 found that Cuomo could receive 37.2% of potential votes, while Mamdani garnered the next highest total at 18.5%. Yet, Brad Lander is the most liked candidate, and Mamdani has raised the most funds for his campaign, a total of $8.4 million. City Councilmember Justin Brannan, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, State Senator Kevin Parker, and Ismael Malave-Perez Jr. are the Democratic Party primary contenders in the election for the comptroller position. The Republican Party has Peter Kefalas as its candidate for city comptroller. With the general election on November 4, 2025, these endorsements indicate which candidates are prioritizing the interests of New York City’s workers. Mayoral endorsements: Back in April, the healthcare workers union, 1199SEIU, issued a statement endorsing Cuomo for mayor: “As Governor of New York, Cuomo stood with 1199SEIU healthcare workers in winning historic victories for working New Yorkers, including the “Fight for $15”, expanding Paid Family Leave, winning marriage equality, and defending immigrant rights. While Washington D.C. wages an unprecedented assault on health care access and Medicaid funding, Cuomo’s record of delivering for healthcare workers, their patients and communities stands as one of his continued successes.”
Candidates took the stage at a District Council 37 New York City mayoral forum on Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
32BJ SEIU and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council (HTC) also came out for Cuomo: 32BJ SEIU President Manny Pastreich said, “Governor Cuomo delivered airport essential workers the highest minimum wage in the nation and access to healthcare benefits under the Healthy Terminals Act. All workers in the state won the $15 minimum wage and Paid Sick Leave. He fought for and secured prevailing wage standards for building service workers on subsidized projects. Farm workers and domestic workers who had been left out of national labor laws saw the historic extension of labor rights, and when the labor movement’s rights were
under attack, he signed legislation making union dues tax-deductible. He came through for our immigrant communities, signing the NYS Dream Act, the law extending access to driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status, and standing up to Trump’s demands for the State’s database of undocumented immigrants who had received driver licenses.” In their statement, HTC said, “Cuomo was at the helm when gaming expanded throughout New York State, and he was instrumental in ensuring that, with the growth of this new industry, came excellent union jobs. Cuomo signed the law to make the emerging gaming industry result in high-quality
jobs with a requirement for labor peace agreements. It’s because of that legislation that 5,000 of our members in the gaming industry have excellent, good-paying jobs today.” Other labor unions that have voiced support for Cuomo are construction industry workers at LIUNA NY; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 3, Teamsters Local 237; District Council 9 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades; the Uniformed EMS Officers Union Local 3621; District Council of Carpenters; the EMS workers union, Local 2507; Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2; the New York City Deputy
Sheriffs’ Association; New York City Coalition of the International Union of the Operating Engineers; the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA), Uniformed Firefighters Officers Association (UFOA); and Teamsters Joint Council 16. The first labor union to endorse Mamdani for mayor was the United Auto Workers Region 9A. “Some may say we took a chance,” Brandon Mancilla, a UAW director, said, “but the actual reckless gamble is to endorse status quo candidates that caused the crisis working families face in the first place.” Workers United NY/NJ, See LABOR UNION on page 30
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June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025 • 11
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12 • June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Opinion Cuomo strangles Black student education
We are not surprised to learn that a federal appeals court reversed a lower court’s ruling that allowed Associated Press journalists to participate in Trump’s daily briefings. The three judge panel voted 2-to-1 giving Trump the right to bar AP reporters from small settings in the Oval Office or Air Force One. Ever since the AP refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as Gulf America it has earned Trump’s wrath. Two of the three judges on the panel are Trump appointees so we expected that ruling would not favor AP. Equally disturbing is the news that veteran ABC correspondent Terry Moran has been suspended for calling Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, a “hater,” in a social media post. He also referred to Trump as a world-class hater. A spokesperson for ABC News said that Moran is suspended pending evaluation and that his views do not reflect the network’s and violated their standards. Whatever precipitated Moran’s accusations, they may have been
By MARINE MARCOU-O’MALLEY
EDITORIAL
One more authoritarian step in LA motivated by Miller’s deportation policy and the current upheaval in Los Angeles –– especially Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and the possible dispatching of Marines –– we know that Trump has said the worst things about countless people. When it comes to the media, particularly the press, we have been repeatedly reminded of Trump’s antagonism. And while ABC seems to have caved in to avoid an attack from Trump, we hail the stand taken by NPR and its lawsuit to uphold freedom of the press. The introduction of the National Guard, after consistently assailing the media, is another element of Trump’s authoritarian agenda. An intimidated press, spineless elected officials, blatant opportunists, greedy plutocrats, and right-wing thugs are all part of Trump’s recipe for total control of the government. Come June 14, his birthday, we hope millions deliver him a birthday present of resentment, one that will be unforgettable.
A person displaying multiple flags walks past a burning car during protests over the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher Member
Alliance for Audited Media
and Editor in Chief
Damaso Reyes: Executive & Investigative Editor Kristin Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor Cyril Josh Barker: Digital Editor Siobhan "Sam" Bennett: Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Advertising
Wilbert A. Tatum (1984-2009): Chairman of the Board, CEO and Publisher Emeritus
When Andrew Cuomo took office as New York’s governor, one of his first actions was sold as a major win for homeowners: a property tax cap under the guise of curbing runaway local property taxes. But behind that policy was a decision that would effectively strangle school funding, devastating public schools, especially in low-income, immigrant, and Black and Brown communities. The cap severely limited the funding available for education and, by extension, restricted the resources local schools could allocate to their students. Rather than offering real relief, Cuomo’s actions turned into a decade-long squeeze on public education in New York State. At the same time, Cuomo made deep cuts to education, slashing nearly $3 billion in his first two years in office. Meanwhile, public schools in New York were confronting the challenges of meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse student population, including an increase in English language learners and students living in poverty. Instead of investing in these schools, Cuomo’s cuts fell hardest on the communities that had already been historically underfunded and neglected by the state’s education system. Black, Brown, low-income, and immigrant children saw their opportunities for a quality education diminished because Cuomo’s priority was balancing the state’s budget on the backs of our children, while refusing to tax the ultra-wealthy. What is worse is how Cuomo justified these cuts: He successfully claimed that New York was “spending too much” on public education while getting too little in return. However, Cuomo’s penny-pinching rhetoric conveniently ignored a key fact: At the state’s wealthiest schools, like those his own children attended, and where taxpayers were spending upward of $40,000 per student, every student graduated and went on to attend a four-year college. The disparities were clear. The schools with the resources were able to support and challenge their students, equipping them with the skills necessary to succeed as adults. While his own children were receiving the best education public money could provide, Cuomo worked to deny similar opportunities to children across New York. At the same time as his administration was preventing the full funding of public schools via Foundation Aid (money that was constitutionally owed to local school districts), they worked overtime to create a public perception that public schools were failing, ineffective, and a drain on state resources. When public pressure mounted over the state’s failure to meet its constitutional obligation to fund schools equitably, Cuomo deflected. He insisted the state owed no such responsibility — even as courts and advocates said otherwise. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with billions of dollars in federal relief going to states to support education, Cuomo attempted to cut an additional $1 billion from the state’s education budget in 2020, a plan that would have further starved schools already facing a crisis. It
Marina Marcou-O’Malley
took widespread outcry from parents, teachers, and students who rose up to stop him. Cuomo’s political career ultimately came to an end by the bravery of women who came forward with accusations of sexual harassment, but much of the damage he inflicted on New York’s education system remains. Today, as Cuomo reenters the political spotlight, attempting to position himself as a savior ready to lead again, we must ask: Who exactly is he trying to save? Because we know it isn’t our kids. Cuomo’s record on education speaks for itself. As governor, he repeatedly put politics and optics ahead of children’s needs. He balanced budgets on the backs of students, and he promoted a myth that struggling schools were failing not because he was undermining them, but because they didn’t deserve more. We do not need Andrew Cuomo back in office to finish what he started as governor. New York’s children deserve better than Cuomo’s indifference — a man who used their futures as a pawn in his budget balancing act. They deserve leaders who believe in public education and are willing to fund it equitably, fully, and without excuses. We need bold investment, not more austerity. We need to put children’s education first, and to ensure that all students — regardless of their ZIP code or background — have the opportunity to succeed. Marina Marcou-O’Malley is co-executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education, where she has led work on education justice and fiscal analysis since 2008. With a background in early childhood education and a career as a longtime advocate, she continues to be driven to advance equity and opportunity for Black, Brown, and lower-income students and families in New York State.
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS O P I N I O N
Juneteenth and defiance?
June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025 • 13
Happy Father’s Day
By HERB BOYD Juneteenth is just around the corner in some places and facing cancellation in others — like the holiday parade slated to run through downtown Indianapolis. According to James Webb, the co-founder and executive director of Indy Juneteenth, the parade was cancelled “due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control.” Beyond control in the Indianapolis case appears to be related to logistics and the problems along the parade route, and has nothing to do with the current moves by the Trump administration to stifle any activity that might encroach on diversity, equity and inclusion. But several other cities have announced Juneteenth cancellations without fully explaining why. On June 14, a few days before the actual arrival of Juneteenth, Trump will celebrate his 79th birthday and protesters are planning coordinated “no kings” demonstrations across the U.S — all with the aim of countering the rollout of the military parade in the nation’s capital honoring the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday and Flag Day. The nationwide protests are being organized by the 50501 Movement (50 protests, 50 states, one movement). If the protests on Trump’s immigration policy continue to rock the nation, things are certain to be accelerated by
CHRISTINA
GREER, PH.D.
The Juneteenth flag is seen waving in the wind during a flag-raising ceremony in recognition and celebration of Juneteenth. (NASA/Keegan Barber)
the middle of the month. How this “nationwide day of defiance” will impact Juneteenth celebrations that may overlap could be reasons the Trump administration can rationalize halting both. We can anticipate clashes between the celebrants, and Trump has found a
convenient way to boost his ego at the expense of a patriotic moment. No surprises here. No matter, Juneteenth is a federal holiday and no amount of intimidation can stop countless Americans from hosting their festivities and, if they desire, to tie them together with the movement.
New York State is failing shared parenting By ANDRÉ K. RAINEY
law cases remain unaddressed by specific statutes. These shortcomings perpetuate a system that often favors sole custody arrangements, depriving children of meaningful relationships with both parents. Research has consistently shown that shared parenting reduces behavioral problems and improves emotional stability in children.
New York has once again received an “F” on the National Parents Organization’s Shared Parenting Report Card. This dismal evaluation highlights the urgent need for legislative reform to prioritize the well-being of children in custody arrangements. Despite overwhelming public support for shared parenting, New York remains one of the few states without statutory recog- What needs to change? nition of shared parenting principles, New York legislators must act immeleaving families at the mercy of outdat- diately to modernize family law by ened case law and inconsistent judicial acting statutes that: decisions. 1. Establish a presumption of shared parenting — unless there is evidence of What’s holding New York back? abuse or neglect, courts should default • New York lacks explicit statutory rec- to equal custody arrangements. ognition of shared parenting, joint legal 2. Encourage cooperative parenting — custody, or shared residential custody. include “friendly parent” provisions to • There is no presumption or prefer- promote collaboration between parents. ence for shared parenting in temporary 3. Protect against false allegations — or final custody orders. introduce penalties for baseless claims • Courts are not required to consider that undermine custody proceedings. “friendly parent” factors, which reward These reforms would align New York cooperative behavior between parents with states like Kentucky and Arizona, during custody disputes. which have successfully implemented • False allegations of abuse in family shared parenting laws and earned high
grades on the report card. Assembly Bill A06151 — a path forward Assembly Bill A06151 establishes a presumption of shared parenting in matrimonial proceedings, ensuring that courts prioritize equal involvement from both parents unless evidence shows it would be detrimental to the child’s best interests. The bill also defines shared parenting and introduces guidelines for creating parenting plans, providing much-needed clarity and consistency in custody cases. A call to action The time is now for New York’s lawmakers to prioritize the best interests of children by embracing shared parenting legislation. Families deserve a legal framework that supports both parents’ involvement in their children’s lives, fostering stability and emotional growth. We must move New York from failing to leading in protecting children’s rights. André Rainey is the former mayor of Peekskill and chair of the National Parents Organization.
Every Father’s Day, I reflect on just how blessed I have been to have a father who has been a consistent presence and mentor in my life. My dad, Theodore Greer, instilled a type of confidence in my sister and me, and for that, I will be forever grateful. There are so many fathers, uncles, granddads, and fatherlike figures who put in the work to make sure the people in their lives are cared for and cared about. My dad is the one who told me that I was naturally good at math because I had a “math gene,” and because of my last name, I was predetermined to be good at math. It wasn’t until I was in AP calculus that I realized there is no such gene, we are not a magical math family, and it was all a fable to make me believe I could do even the most complex things effortlessly. It is that type of vision my dad had for his two Black daughters that makes me so thankful to have a dad like him. As I have written in this column before, both my mom and dad have given me one of the greatest gifts ever, and that is modeling the gift of friendship. My father is an active member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity and throughout my entire life, I have seen the bonds of Black male friendship up close. Those uncles have loved me as their own family and I consider their children my cousins. I have seen my father and his fraternity brothers make time for one anoth-
er and their families, spending hours laughing, debating, playing cards, grilling, and attending dinners, graduations, weddings, and now funerals together. Friendship is indeed essential to the soul and my father has modeled that for my family for decades. I am also thankful for the sacrifices my dad, and so many other dads, made and continue to make. I think about the money spent on abandoned hobbies, private schools, travel both domestically and abroad, and a myriad of small and large experiences that have helped contribute to the wellrounded person I am today. I constantly see so many dads, especially Black men, doing this quiet work without fanfare or praise, all while combating baseless stereotypes about who they are and how they show up for their families and communities. This Father’s Day, I want to thank my dad and all of the other dads and dad-like folks who do the quiet heavy lifting to keep families afloat, keep spirits high, and keep our society focused on the larger goals ahead. Thank you, Dad, love you loads! Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of the books “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.
14 • June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Caribbean Update Bribery allegations surface in efforts to form Surinamese government By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews After the May 25 general elections in the Caribbean Community nation of Suriname, six political parties came together to form a new government coalition, ensuring the previous government was sent to the opposition benches after a single five-year term. In coming together, the six have mustered enough votes and seats to gain a two-thirds or 34 of the 51 assembly seats, allowing it to soon elect a president and vice president without the help of any other political outfit. But as the multiparty, multiracial coalition waits on final results and a parliamentary sitting to formally choose the two top positions, there are widespread allegations that the outgoing VHP-led administration is offering financial inducements for incoming lawmakers from the coalition to ditch this group and help it remain in government. The six-party group, led by the National Democratic Party (NDP) of late former military strongman and two-time coup maker Desi Bouterse, won a bloc of 18 seats compared to 17 for the Indo-dominated VHP, leading by over 6,000 votes. The difference this time, however, is that none of the parties which won seats wants to coalesce with the VHP, as was the case in 2020 when it had three other partners, citing alleged widespread corruption, the sharing of wealth mostly be-
you really fell off your chair,” he told local television station D-TV Express. “But now the stakes are high. Do you love your country enough or do you love your pocket? Because amounts of 1 million dollars, 2 million dollars, 3 million dollars, 4 million dollars and 5 million dollars are offered. But if you commit treason, people know immediately that it is you, 100,000%,” he said, confirming reports about offers to cross the floor. Additionally, NDP Bronto Somohardjo, the leader of the Javanese-supported Leader and former Pertjajah Luhur party, in a photo taken in 2020. (Communicatie assembly speaker Dienst Suriname / commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bronto_ Jennifer Simons says Somohardjo.png) she is also aware of tween friends and family, an increase in inducement efforts to maintain the poinflation, and a general reduction in the litical status quo. quality of life in the country. “We get a lot of news about bribery. In This week, for example, Bronto So- fact, we have information that people are mohardjo, the leader of the Javanese- being offered a lot of money. And that’s supported Pertjajah Luhur party, says a shame, because we were talking about offers of bribes to form a coalition with corruption. This is a serious form of corthe VHP and keep it in power abound at ruption when you buy people’s votes. But the moment. yes, it is said and I don’t have it in black “I won’t say what they offered, but and white. So, we hope it is not true,”
Simons said in the program Bakana Tori. For those interested in political power, much is at stake going forward as the country of about 600,000 is poised to rake in hundreds of millions in cash from oil and gas production starting in 2028. French oil giant Total Energies and APA Corporation of the U.S. are leading efforts to kickstart production in three years while drilling exploratory and appraisal wells on the border with Guyana which has been producing oil since 2019 following discoveries in 2015. Whichever party or coalition group is in power when oil begins to gush from the seabed would have large amounts of money to spend and improve life in the country. Currently, the country is only now completing a harsh IMF slew of austerity measures that had, among other demands, restricted wage increases, tinkered with interest rates and pushed the local dollar from under US$10-1 in 2020 to over 40-1 today, sending import prices exponentially. Outgoing President Chan Santokhi has blamed the harshness of the fund programs for the departure of thousands of voters from the VHP, saying it was unfortunate but necessary to correct economic abnormalities from the previous government. He thinks the party had lost at least three seats because of the measures. “If it had been a success, the people would have settled with us,” he said. “I want to give you another chance, together with other political parties.”
Trump fulfills 2018 ‘s-hole’ nation ban vision with new immigration proclamation
FELICIA PERSAUD
IMMIGRATION KORNER June marks both Caribbean American Heritage Month and Black Music Month in the U.S., but for many Black immigrants, the month continues with another harsh blow — a proclamation by Donald Trump effectively fulfilling his long-held goal of banning immigrants from nations he once crudely labeled “S-hole” countries. Back in 2018, Trump’s disparaging remarks about Haiti and African nations drew global outrage. Fast-forward to today, and his administration has formalized those sentiments into policy. Less than six months into his presidency, a sweeping immigration proc-
lamation now bars entry from a list of predominantly Black and brown nations — including Haiti, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, and Libya. Also added were Iran, Burma, and Yemen. A partial ban was slapped on Burundi, Sierra Leone, Cuba, Togo, Turkmenistan, Laos, and Venezuela. Notably, no European countries were included — a fact that raises serious questions about the policy’s intent and fairness. One can only imagine how Haitian Americans who supported Trump are feeling now. And what about the Cuban and Venezuelan voters in Miami who helped secure his win? The implications are now at their doorstep. According to the Department of Homeland Security’s 2023 data, the rationale for the bans centers on visa overstays, refusals to repatriate deportees, and national security claims.
Yet the data tells a different story. While 27,269 Haitians overstayed their B1/B2 visas, 20,029 Spaniards did the same — and Spain is not on any banned list. Chad had 377 overstays; the Congo, 285 — while the United Kingdom racked up 15,712. Still, there is no ban for the UK. The numbers continue to highlight the disparity: Eritrea had 134 overstays, South Sudan just 6, Somalia 14, and Libya 57. Meanwhile, Australia logged 3,218, France 9,182, Italy 8,161, Germany 5,984, and Portugal 3,854 — none of which resulted in bans. Further comparison shows Iran had 129 overstays, Burma 543, and Yemen 205. That’s still lower than the 2,469 from the Netherlands. Burundi saw 124 overstays, Sierra Leone 67, and Cuba 233 — all lower than Norway’s 424. And yet, Trump once publicly wished for more immigrants from Norway. Togo, now partially banned, reported only 75 overstays. Turkmenistan had
142, Laos 660 — still fewer than New Zealand’s 828 or Poland’s 1,914. Venezuela had a high number — 21,513 — but is only partially banned. The reality is that nationals from Haiti and many African countries already face significant obstacles in obtaining U.S. visas. Their total numbers are small, and the overstays reflect that. In contrast, numerous European nations have far higher overstay rates — and yet remain untouched. The facts speak for themselves. Trump has turned his 2018 remarks into policy, reinforcing a vision to reshape America’s immigration system in starkly racial terms — not to make America great again, but to make America white again. Felicia J. Persaud is the publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, a daily news outlet focused on positive news about Black immigrant communities from the Caribbean and Latin America.
June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025 • 15
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
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Cuts to USAID severed longstanding American support for Indigenous people around the world By GRAHAM LEE BREWER Associated Press Miguel Guimaraes Vasquez fought for years to protect his homeland in the Peruvian Amazon from deforestation related to the cocaine trade, even laboring under death threats from drug traffickers. A leader in an Indigenous rights group, Vasquez said such efforts were long supported by financial assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which spent billions of dollars starting in the 1980s to help farmers in Peru shift from growing coca for cocaine production to legal crops such as coffee and cacao for chocolate. The agency funded economic and agricultural training and technology, and helped farmers gain access to international markets. But the Trump administration’s recent sweeping cuts to the agency have thrown that tradition of U.S. assistance into doubt, and Indigenous people in the Amazon worry that without American support there will be a resurgence of the cocaine market, increased threats to their land and potentially violent challenges to their human rights. “We don’t have the U.S. government with us anymore. So it can get really dangerous,” said Vásquez, who belongs to the Shipibo-Konibo people and is vice president of the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest. “We think the situation is going to get worse.” Several Indigenous human rights defenders have been killed trying to protect their land, Vasquez said, and in some of those cases U.S. foreign aid provided money to help prosecute the slayings. “We really needed those resources,” he said. Sweeping cuts began in January When Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, began dismantling USAID shortly after President Donald Trump began his second term, it all but eliminated U.S. foreign aid spending, including decades of support to Indigenous peoples around the world. USAID’s work with Indigenous peoples sought to address a variety of global issues affecting the U.S.,
according to former employees. Its economic development efforts created jobs in South America, easing the need for people to work in illicit drug markets and reducing the likelihood they would migrate to America seeking jobs and safety. And its support for the rights of Indigenous peoples to steward their own land offered opportunities to mitigate climate change. That included Vásquez’s organization, which was about to receive a four-year, $2.5 million grant to continue fighting illicit activity that affects Indigenous people in the region. Vásquez said that grant was rescinded by the new administration. In January, DOGE launched a sweeping effort empowered by Trump to fire government workers and cut trillions in government spending. USAID, which managed about $35 billion in appropriations in fiscal year 2024, was one of his prime targets. Critics say the aid programs are wasteful and promote a liberal agenda. Trump, Musk and Republicans in Congress have accused the agency of advancing liberal social programs. “Foreign assistance done right can advance our national interests, protect our borders, and strengthen our partnerships with key allies,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement in March. “Unfortunately, USAID strayed from its original mission long ago. As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high.” Musk last week announced his departure from the Trump administration, marking the end of a turbulent chapter that included thousands of layoffs and reams of litigation. Former USAID employees said political pressure from the U.S. often kept foreign governments from violating some Indigenous rights. In the three months since thousands of foreign aid workers were fired and aid contracts canceled, the Peruvian government has moved quickly to strip Indigenous people of their land rights and to tighten controls on international organizations that document human rights abuses. It’s now a serious offense for a nonprofit to provide assistance to anyone
working to bring lawsuits against the government. The National Commission for Development and a Drug-Free Lifestyle, the country’s agency that fights drug trafficking, did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. “The impact was really, really strong, and we felt it really quickly when the Trump administration changed its stance about USAID,” Vásquez said. The U.S. spends less than 1% of its budget on foreign assistance. Tim Rieser, a senior foreign policy aide in the Senate who works for Democratic Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, called DOGE’s cuts to USAID a “mindless” setback to years of work. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Agency reached Indigenous communities worldwide USAID’s work reached Indigenous communities around the world. It sought to mitigate the effects of human rights abuses in South America, created programs in Africa to enable Indigenous people to manage their own communities and led the global U.S. effort to fight hunger. One of the most recent additions to USAID’s work was incorporating international concepts of Indigenous rights into policy. Rieser, for instance, was responsible for crafting legislation that created an adviser within USAID to protect the rights and address the needs of Indigenous peoples. The adviser advocated for Indigenous rights in foreign assistance programs, including actions by the World Bank. “That provided Indigenous people everywhere with a way to be heard here in Washington,” Rieser said. “That has now been silenced.” That adviser position remains unfilled. Vy Lam, USAID’s adviser on Indigenous peoples, who said he was fired in March as part of the DOGE downsizing, said the idea of Indigenous rights, and the mandate to recognize them in foreign operations, was new to USAID. But it gained momentum under President Joe Biden’s administration.
Cut down trees lie near the Cordillera Azul National Park in Peru’s Amazon Forest on Oct. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
He said concepts such as “free, prior and informed consent” — the right of Indigenous people to give or withhold approval for any action that would affect their lands or rights — were slowly being implemented in American foreign policy. One of the ways that happened, Lam said, came in the form of U.S. political pressure on foreign governments or private industry to negotiate mutually beneficial agreements between Indigenous peoples and their governments. For instance, if an American company wanted to build a hotel in an area that could affect an Indigenous community, the U.S. could push for the deal to require Indigenous approval, or at least consultation. “We had that convening power, and that is the thing that I grieve the most,” Lam said. U.S. foreign aid workers were also able to facilitate the reporting of some human rights violations, such as when a human rights or environmental defender is jailed without charges, or Indigenous peoples are forced off their land for the establishment of a protected area. Money supported attendance at international meetings In some cases, USAID supported travel to the United Nations, where Indigenous leaders and
advocates could receive training to navigate international bodies and document abuses. Last year, under the Biden administration, USAID awarded a five-year grant to support Indigenous LGBTQIA people through the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous People, an agency that offers financial support to Indigenous peoples to participate in the U.N. At $350,000 per year, it was the largest grant from any member state in the U.N., fund Secretary Morse Flores said. The money would have paid for attendance at the U.N. and other international bodies to report human rights abuses and to testify on foreign policy. In February, the fund received notice that the grant would be terminated. The State Department does not plan to fulfill its pledge to fund the remaining four years of the grant. In most cases, people receiving assistance to attend major meetings “are actual victims of human rights violations,” Flores said. “For someone who’s unable to come and speak up, I mean, it’s really just an injustice.” ___ This story was published in partnership with Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to reporting on climate change.
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Arts & Entertainment
1930s Detroit comes to life in novel presented by actor Blair Underwood By JULIAN MICHAEL CALDWELL Special to the AmNews Readers are transported to the bustling Black community of 1930s Black Bottom Detroit, and the organized crime, turf wars, and booming music scene that colored the day in “Sins of Survivors,” the debut novel written by cinematographer Joe McClean, presented by Golden Globe-nominated actor and producer Blair Underwood. The fictional story centers around thriving Prohibition era businessmen and brothers Jasper and Benjamin Carter, who migrate North after their father is lynched during their childhood in Alabama. While the story itself is made up, the Black Bottom community was a real neighborhood that was demolished more than 60 years ago. “I love history,” McClean said in an interview. “While I was there [in Detroit] researching, I was a hundred percent living in the museums and trying to find old buildings that were either warehouses or completely torn down [by the time McClean got there]. The main drag in Black Bottom was Hastings Street and it is quite literally a freeway now. It’s gone, it’s wiped off the planet, which is why most people don’t know about it.” Black Bottom was leveled during the 1950s and 1960s as a result of the same urban renewal initiative that saw Black communities in other parts of the country get erased by government-led land redevelopment. In Black Bottom, the program primarily made way for the construction of the Chrysler Freeway. “The neighborhoods like the southside of Chicago, or areas in Harlem, we know about because the government did not successfully knock them down,” McClean
Blair Underwood (Collin Stark photo)
Author Joe McClean (Courtesy of the author)
explained. “And this Black Bottom neighborhood is one that they got. There’s an effort now to sort of revitalize that, and I hope by telling this story we can remember the incredible importance of this place.” McClean and Underwood met through a mutual friend several years ago, when McClean had begun writing “Sin of Survivors” as a TV series. The idea grabbed the attention of Underwood, who has also produced seven other books through his Blair Underwood Presents imprint. “Sins of Survivors” is pub-
lished through Underwood’s imprint, underneath the larger umbrella of HarperCollins Publishers. “I was fascinated because I had done a play about four or five years prior to that, called ‘Paradise Blue,’ written by Dominique Morisseau,” Underwood recalled. “And when I did it, I had never heard of Black Bottom, and deeper than that, most everyone I talked to — Black and white — had never heard of Black Bottom Detroit. So I was really intrigued when Joe knew all about this place and this time when it thrived.”
Prior to acting in “Paradise Blue” in 2015, which was set in 1940s Black Bottom, Underwood knew a great deal about the Great Migration, and other notable Black communities at the turn of the century like Tulsa in Oklahoma and Rosewood in Florida. However, Underwood was struck by “the specificity of Detroit and Black Bottom. The specificity of Paradise Valley, which was the entertainment run through Black Bottom where so many great artists came and thrived. It was such a musical hub and dynamic
place for entertainers before Motown, and Motown didn’t happen in a vacuum; it’s on the shoulders and back of Black Bottom, and those artists and entrepreneurs.” Music is an important element in “Sins of Survivors,” with McClean taking every opportunity to mention the artists who performed in Black Bottom, and highlight the significance that music played in the community. The book even includes lyrics from famous artists of the day, when possible. “You cannot divorce Detroit from the music, it’s im-
possible,” McClean said. “In the Cotton Club in New York it was Black music with a white audience until 2 a.m., and then they would leave and the Black audience would come in. But at that time in Paradise Valley, these audiences were mixed Black and white. So they were able to get these gigantic names — the Ella Fitzgeralds and Count Basies and Fats Wallers — into these small clubs because they wanted to experience this new thing that was happening there.” “Sins of Survivors” features mob stories, forbidden love affairs, crime and fashion of the day included with a cinematic flare that McClean brings as writer and director of multiple films like 2017’s “The Drama Club,” and the upcoming film “Viral” which is being directed by and stars Underwood. The book is the first of two in a series that will continue to follow the legacy of the Carter brothers across generations. “The book gets far more in-depth than the original script that I wrote,” McClean explained. “I had to really dive in because the screenplay is just the blueprint for the movie. With the screenplay you’re going to rely on the cinematographer, and the director, and the score, and the costume, but as the novelist you’ve got to create all of that.” “It’s a great summer read, it’s a fun read,” Underwood added. “And also you’ll take a journey through a place and time that most people haven’t seen, so I hope people become connected to these characters, become invested in these characters, fall in love with these characters and follow their journey.” “Sins of Survivors” is available now in-store at Barnes & Noble, as well as online via Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org and Amazon.
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Black Pride on film at Maysles Documentary Center By MICHAEL HENRY ADAMS Special to the AmNews
ry showing of Jennie Livingston’s by now iconic, “Paris is Burning.” Who would believe before Elegance Barton’s “Pier Kids,” With their series “Pride at Maysles” am- Patrik Ian-Polk’s “Punks,” or Kirk Shannonplifying and celebrating Queer Black cul- Butts’ “Blueprint,” that a white girl would ture, perception, and perspective, Harlem’s document the 1980s drag scene on location Maysles Documentary Center reprises the in Harlem and the West Village in her 1990 Homo-Harlem film festival I ran here 15 chronicle? years ago with funding from State Senator By way of an appetizer, Nikolai Ursin’s Bill Perkins. 1967 short “Behind Every Good Man” gave an intimate glimpse of the life of an African American trans woman, two years prior to New York’s historic Stonewall rebellion, demanding equal rights for LGBTQ+ residents. The best is yet to come! On Friday, June 13, from 7-10:30 p.m., Pride at Maysles presents: Dawn Porter’s “Luther: Never Too Much,” completed just last year. With specialty drinks and music by DJ A²z, the post-screening party is sure to be an appropriately festive climax. Further events are as follows:
Jafari Sinclaire Allen is professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies, in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADS) at Columbia University, where he is the director of the Institute for Research in African American Studies (IRAAS), and editor-in-chief of “Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Society, and Culture.”
Much like colorism, in response to compounded biases, engenders a kind of double consciousness, so does being Back and LGBTQ+. Everyday racism and marginalization are more than enough to combat without the added demonization of homophobia. This conundrum was hauntingly dramatized last week, when I attended a screening of three Marlon Riggs movies. I saw his impassioned quest for love and self-realization in “Affirmations,” made in 1990; the experimental 1991 music short “Anthem,” and from two years earlier, the elegiac feature film, “Tongues Untied,” where I have a cameo. Giving voice and visibility to a hereto largely invisible Queer Black community, this last most ambitious offering had premiered 45 years ago on PBS, albeit at 11 p.m. A post-screening panel, including Dr. Kathryn T. Hall, Dr. Jafari Allen, and Steven G. Fullwood, led a thoughtful discussion exploring the paradox of gaining recognition while simultaneously being hidden, and other issues of a Black gay pursuit of DEI. Audience members were so engrossed that the Q&A ran over time. This auspicious start was followed on Sunday, June 8, by the 35th anniversa-
Saturday, June 14, 7-9 p.m. Pride at Maysles continues with three short films from Cheryl Dunye: “Janine” (1990) recounts the story of a Black lesbian’s relationship with an upper-class white high schooler; “She Don’t Fade” (1991) is Maysles Center Program Manager Nia Whitmal with Dr. Kathryn T. Hall, Dr. Jafari Allen, an hilarious, reflection of a young Black and Steven G. Fullwood answering audience questions at the “Tongues Untied” screening. lesbian; and “The Potluck and the Passion” (Michael Henry Adams photos) (1993) portrays potential racial, sexual, and political conflagration, averted, at a lesbian the filmmaker and his brother, artist Lyle tion committed to community, education, potluck super. Ashton Harris, compellingly investigate and documentary film. They employ filmtheir own complex family histories. making to expand the universe and opporPost-screening, insights from the direc- tunities of underrepresented artists and tor, Cass Arrington, and yours truly will be narratives, while empowering young filmfollowed by a celebration of the 30th an- makers in creative self-expression, comniversary of “Vintage: Families of Value.” municating ideas, and advocating action. There will also be a pop-up exhibition of Harris’ House of Haizlip. Wednesday, June 18, 7-9 p.m. “Holding Back the Tide,” made by Emily Packer in 2023, is a poetic meditation on New York’s oysters transforming waterways even in the face of their own uncertain future. Ms. Packer herself will lead a post-screening conversation. Wednesday, June 25, 7-9:30 p.m. Pride at Maysles will show “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” (2023). A collaboration between Joe Brewster and Steven G. Fullwood is co-director of the Michèle Stephenson, the film examines Nomadic Archivists Project and former assistant curator, Manuscripts, Archives the revolutionary life and work of the inand Rare Books Division at the Schomburg novative activist poet, from the sixties’ Civil Center. He was the founder and project Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter director of the In the Life Archive Project, and today’s DEI wars; a purposeful journey Dr. Kathryn T. Hall, PhD, MPH, is the formerly known as the Black Gay and further illuminated by Joe Brewster and assistant professor of medicine, part-time, Lesbian Archive, which was donated to the Michèle Stephenson in an in-person disat Harvard Medical School and associate Schomburg Center in 2004. cussion after the show. molecular biologist in the Division of June 2025’s Pride at Maysles is co-curatPreventive Medicine at Brigham and Saturday, June 15, 7:-10:30 p.m. ed by Nia Whitmal, Kazembe Balagun, VanWomen’s Hospital. Dr. Hall is the author of The programming only gets better still. guard DocMaker Students, Thomas Allen “Placebos” (MIT Press) and has a master’s In “The World Before Me” (2022), Cass Ar- Harris, Sonnet Carter, and Darah Martin. in documentary film from Emerson College. rington traces inter-generational experiEstablished by the late luminary docuences growing up queer. So does Thomas mentarian Albert Maysles and his wife GilMaysles Documentary Center is located Allen Harris in “Vintage: Families of Value” lian Walker when they moved to Harlem 20 at 343 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY 10027, (1995), an imaginative experimental doc- years ago, Maysles Documentary Center (646)-853-1296. For more info, visit www. umentary where queer siblings, including is a Harlem-based nonprofit organiza- maysles.org
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Grace Jones and Janelle Monae kick off BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! on a fierce note
Grace Jones and Janelle Monae. (Photos by John Carluccio - Grace Jones - Janelle Monae _Brooklyn2025)
copying her — can still learn a thing or two about sex appeal and stage presence from the statuesque and snatched 77-year-old. During her show, she quickly changed into several avant-garde chapeaus designed by Irish milliner Philip Treacy; she sauntered, poked out her tongue, and toyed with the audience. “You’re going to get to know me a little bit. I don’t have a filter, or so they tell me,” she said before she belted “Williams Blood,” a fiery song co-written by The Revolution’s Wendy and Lisa. She then chugged a glass of wine and said, “I feel the spirit now!” After that, she really went to church and flexed her powerful pipes with a soul-stirring a cappella rendition of “Amazing Grace.” More mesmerizing moments included “My Jamaican Guy,” with chants of “Go Brooklyn” filling the air (a nod to L.L. Cool J’s sample on “Doin’ It”); the dramatic way Jones echoed the word “strange” once she finished the dramatic “I’ve Seen That Face Before”; a funky new track called “The Key”
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Electric lady Monae, who identifies as nonbinary, moved the cheering crowd with an energized hour-long set that showcased hits from her bright — but by comparison to Jones, brief — music catalogue. Her opening look was a flirty, black and white latex tuxedo mini-dress. Backed by a horn-heavy band and flanked by two female dancers in short black latex dresses, the striking 39-year-old sang and danced her heart out, notably on “Electric Lady,” ”Q.U.E.E.N,” “Lipstick Lover,” and “Make Me Feel.” Monae has noticeably matured as an artist and her vocals were impressive. She brought the packed, outdoor house down with the simmering “I Like That” and the pop-rock-leaning “Cold War,” which poses the timely query, “Do you know what you’re fighting for?” The Kansas native closed with arguably her most popular song, the ‘60s soul-reminiscent “Tightrope,” and left the stage draped in a black sequined cape in homage to godfather of soul, James Brown.
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Grace Jones and Janelle Monae each gave an unapologetically bold, Black and beautiful performance during the opening night benefit concert to kick off the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! summer performing arts festival. Shouts of “happy pride” peppered the evening’s festivities — a collaboration with Blue Note and Live Nation — and many of the diverse and multigenerational concertgoers gathered at Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park waved fans, shook tambourines and flaunted their fashion flair. A colorfully clad, midriff-baring young man named Julian channeled a young Prince with his mane of curls, round shades and a lollipop, and gyrated in his seat. He said that Monae’s music moves him and that his dad is a huge Jones fan.
“Here’s Grace!” Not even the drizzling rain could dampen the spirits of the crowd as they eagerly awaited for the queen to come through. Then around 9:20 p.m., there she was in all of her androgynous glamazon glory, standing stoically behind an elevated railing, shrouded by mist, wearing a signature structured suit with her head and eyes concealed by a helmet-like red hat. Jones launched into her alternately hardhitting and coquettish hour-and-a-halflong set with a few ‘80s disco bangers, including “Nightclubbing” and “Private Life.” Then she literally beat to the sound of her own drum on the pulsating, “Demolition Man,” written by Sting. You’d be hard pressed to find another enGrace Jones performing “Demolition Man” at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! tertainer who can captivate an audience quite like Jones. Even seasoned performers ; and her hypnotic cover of Roxy Music’s beat of the bubbling bassline. like Beyonce, Rihanna, Madonna and Lady “Love Is The Drug.” “You’re a naughty girl,” Monae said with Gaga — all of whom Jones has shaded for As a closer, Jones pulled out all the stops a sly grin. for “Pull Up to the Bumper.” For her encore, even after the house lights “Curfew, who ever heard of a curfew. Se- went up, Jones hula hooped for the durariously?” she scoffed, as she piggybacked tion of “Slave to the Rhythm.” through the crowd wearing a sculptural red Amazing, Grace. hat and a black corset. Back on the stage, For more information on this summer’s Monae joined Jones to sing the chorus, and Celebrate Brooklyn! Lineup, visit bricartsthey playfully spanked each other to the media.org/celebrate-brooklyn/.
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By TRACY E. HOPKINS Special to the AmNews
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The Met reopens its Rockefeller Wing of African, Asian, and American collections By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff The Metropolitan Museum of Art had a grand celebration for the reopening of its Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. On May 28, press, local politicians, and Met Museum supporters were invited to view the new layout of the redesigned galleries, which feature art and artifacts from Africa, the ancient Americas, and Oceania. The museum held an official ribbon-cutting ceremony and an all-day festival to celebrate the reopening on May 31. The Rockefeller Wing cost $70 million and took four years to redesign. Its new galleries are a showcase for 1,800+ works of art. The press preview for the gallery openings brought art scholars and promoters out to celebrate. Dr. Arapata Hakiwai of the National Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa arrived with Māori dancers. NYC’s Department of Cultural Affairs Director Laurie Cumbo spoke of how the city helped support the museum’s years of renovation. The journalist, editor, and poet Mardonio Carballo recited a poem in the traditional Aztec language of Nahuatl, and Senegalese musician and activist Baaba Maal sang and performed with members of
personalities: human beings that should be celebrated all over this planet. It’s difficult for them sometimes even to survive and to live with their art.” Maal said he was honored to see the work of Senegalese painter Iba N’Diaye and other talented African artists showcased abroad in places like The Met. The Met’s new galleries are still grappling with how to address Europe’s colonial legacy of stolen art. The Rockefeller Wing’s Arts of Africa galleries showcase works that represent artistic movements across the African subcontinent, spanning from the 12th century to the present day. In the Arts of the Ancient Americas galleries, the selected works highlight Indigenous artistic heritage from North to South America, dating back to before 1600 CE. The Arts of Oceania galleries feature pieces from Indigenous communities in New Guinea, the central and eastern Pacific, and regions of Australia and Southeast Asia. These exhibits bring a wealth of art to New York for those who may never have the chance to travel and see them in their native lands. “This is what the Met aspires to be,” Met diInstallation view of the Arts of Africa Galleries (Bruce Schwarz photo) rector Max Hollein said, “a place of meaningful engagement, celebration, and of the MAXPercussion drumming ensemble. artists from far away,” Maal told the audi- respect for the art, its time, and culture.” “You know, sometimes it’s difficult for great ence. “Great actors, great talents with great For more info, visit metmuseum.org.
(Paula Lobo photo)
(Paula Lobo photo)
Installation view of the Arts of the Ancient Americas Galleries (Brigit Beyer photo)
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Looking ahead to 32nd annual Juneteenth Celebration in Harlem By JASON EVAN PONTEROTTO Special to the AmNews
The 32nd annual Juneteenth Harlem celebration parade is set to take place on Saturday, June 14, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., between Lenox (Malcolm X Blvd.) and 5th Avenue on 116th Street. Like every year, the parade will include festive floats and various organizations represented. It will tap into the roots of African American cultural life with live bands and performances of jazz, gospel, spoken word, and dance. A street fair will feature food vendors and services for health, education, and culture that attendees can enjoy. The parade is presented by and organized every year by the Masjid Malcolm Shabazz mosque (102 W. 116th Street). While there will be several cel ebrations in the city, the parade on 116th has been the longest running in New York for more
9.6” A float from a previous year’s Juneteenth Parade. (Bill Moore photo)
than three decades. The center was originally founded as Temple No. 7, and Malcolm X became head minister there before leaving the Nation of Islam. The space was changed to its current name in 1976 to honor his legacy. This year’s celebration comes one month after Malcolm X’s 100th birthday. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery, dating back to 1865 in Texas, after the Civil War ended and General Gordon Granger’s final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been ignored in the state. It first became a state holiday in 1979, followed by other states, and gained more prominence in the 1980s. President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law in 2021. Vendor applications are still open. For more info, visit juneteenthcelebrationnyc.org.
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Sly Stone, the rock funkster, dies at 82 By RONALD E. SCOTT Special to the AmNews Sly Stone, the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, who effortlessly transformed pop, funk, gospel, and psychedelic rock into one vibrant voice that created Sly & the Family Stone and influenced Miles Davis during his fusion movement, died on June 9 in Los Angeles, surrounded by his three children and extended family. He was 82.
Sly Stone (Public domain photo)
His family announced the news “with profound sadness” and said in a statement, “After a prolonged battle with COPD and other underlying health issues, Sly passed away peacefully.” Sly & the Family Stone was a double threat with Sly’s distinctive bass voice immediately recognized on his first note. The pulsating, explosive funk of the Family Stone, their hard-hittin’ repetitive lyrics, electrified your entire body. His music touched your soul like a Mahalia Jackson spiritual or a Ray Charles blues tune that just made your body tremble, but Sly’s style, with all that funk, made you jump up and “dance to the music.” Having been fortunate enough to see Sly on many occasions, I have only one thing to say: It was an invigorating experience. We saw him once at the Dome, formerly in the East Village; the music was louder than a freight train rolling through your living room — the entire club vibrated as we danced like tomorrow would never come. We once waited two hours for him to show up at Central Park, and he was late to the Apollo Theater, but once he arrived, the party was on — it was a non-stop excursion that took you higher!
From the Nov. 28, 1970 issue of the AmNews.
Sly was one of the first major musicians to play every instrument on many of his songs. His high-intensity live performances influenced Michael Jackson, Prince, and many high-voltage groups that followed. With the 1960s–1970s band, Sly Stone combined inspirational anthems with dagger-sharp commentary on America’s ongoing injustices and racism, with penetrating lyrics, brilliant hooks, and highflyin’ grooves. This magical blend made him one of the most sampled artists in
history. His music elevated words into another realm. His straight-up funk songs, like “I Want to Take You Higher” and “Fun,” lived up to their titles. A host of motivating songs became street anthems, like “Everybody is a Star”: “Everybody is a Star / Who would rain and chase the dust away / Everybody wants to shine / Who’ll come out on a cloudy day / Til the sun that loves you proud / When the system tries to beat you down.” He comes back with the politically mo-
tivated “Stand”: “Stand / They will try to make you crawl / And they know what you’re saying makes sense and all / Stand / Don’t you know that you are free? / Well, at least in your mind if you want to be (Everybody).” His gospel blues saturated interpretation of “Que Sera Sera,” reflecting a deeper dimension to the well-traveled hit. Sly was politically astute to the tumultuous times of his flower-power era and his genius lyrics were filled with political thoughts of everyday people. His lyrics remain inspirational and extremely relevant to these times. Born Sylvester Stewart, the second of five children, Sly and his family moved from Denton, Texas, to Vallejo, California, when he was an adolescent. The family was heavily involved in the Pentecostal Church. By age 8, Stone was recording gospel music with his siblings, Freddie, Rose, and Vaetta, as the Stewart Four; they released a gospel single, “On the Battlefield.” By age 11, Stone was adept on keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums. In high school, he formed a multi-racial doo-wop group, the Viscaynes, and made some recordings in Los Angeles. With his eclectic music taste, Stone decided to attend the Chris Borden School of Broadcasting in San Francisco. He went on to earn a reputation as a disc jockey at KSOL and KDIA, an R&B radio station in San Mateo. His playlist blended both R&B and pop music like Dylan, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, who were part of the British rock invasion. At the same time, Stone was employed as a record producer for Autumn Records, producing San Francisco-area bands. Stone and his brother Freddie merged their own bands together in 1966 to form Sly & the Family Stone. It was an integrated group that included both white and Black musicians, and women who played instruments — a very rare occurrence for that era. The band’s original lineup featured Freddie on guitar, and Sly on organ, along with bassist Lary Graham, Vaetta (later known as Vet Stone) on keyboards and vocals, and drummer Greg Errico. The lineup would later include trumpeter Cynthia Robinson, saxophonist Jerry Martini, and Rose on keyboards and vocals. The group was soon riding the charts with hits like “Everyday People,” “Family Affair,” and “Dance to the Music.” The group recorded the albums “Fresh” in 1973 and “Small Talk” in 1974; its bluesy soul doo wop flavor should have done much better in sales. Due to Stone’s welldocumented drug abuse, the Family Stone disbanded and Sly began recording solo. His 1979 album “Back on the Right Continued on next page
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Track” was an attempt to keep the Family Stone name in the limelight, but his personal issues remained a stumbling block. By the 1980s, Stone had slipped into seclusion. In the mid-2000s, though, he started to make sporadic public appearances, including performing with his daughter’s band, Baby Stone. The Grammys gave him a lifetime achievement award in 2017. Stones’ legacy was revitalized in the last few years with musician Questlove’s Academy Award-winning 2021 documentary “Summer of Soul,” which included a performance by Sly and the Family Stone during a Harlem cultural festival in 1969 at Marcus Garvey Park. That film was followed in 2023 by a memoir, “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).” The memoir, wrote AP reviewer Christopher Weber, “overflows with wit and wordplay.” “The call, the re-
sponse. It felt like church,” Stone wrote. “The horns went up into the sky. When the show was over, we were wet and cold. I don’t remember how I left, maybe the same way I came in, but I wasn’t there to see Jimi [Hendrix] close the festival (Woodstock).” Last year, Questlove released a documentary about Stone’s life, “Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius).” Sly Stone, innovator, whose music will ignite generations to come, was a fashion trendsetter who could wear the craziest hat and make it look hip. His eyeglass frames were outrageous. His genius lyrics will always strike a chord. He resonated with Everyday People, letting us know Everybody Is a Star and we should always STAND! In addition to his son, Stone is survived by two daughters, Sylvette Robinson and Novena Carmel, and six grandchildren.
From the Sept. 18, 1971 issue of the AmNews.
Speeding ruins lives. Slow down.
From the Sept. 14, 1968 issue of the AmNews.
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The Jazz Gallery, Craig Harris, Sista’s Place, Dionne Warwick
The Jazz Gallery (1158 Broadway, 5th floor), whose repertoire reflects the eclectic side of jazz beyond its ordinary confines, welcomes multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey for a moving four-day engagement June 11–14. The 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer is known for his shimmering virtuosity; as an explosive drummer (instrument of choice) who never overpowers. He blends his often-complex compositions and improvisation into an inventive experience. While he performs globally with his own ensembles, he remains in constant demand, having performed with the likes of John Zorn, Vijay Iyer, Jason Moran, King Britt, Claire Chase, Roscoe Mitchell, and Steve Lehman, among many others. “Downbeat” magazine recognized Sorey with its 2023 Critics Poll Award as a Rising Star Producer, while frequently placing him near the top of its Composer and Drum Set performance lists. “I attempt to challenge the audience to see the music from a different perspective, rethink how they view the music,” Sorey said in a 2024 interview with the AmNews. Two shows each night at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. For tickets, visit jazzgallery.org. Craig S. Harris is one of the most imaginative trombonists of his era. Over the years, he has effortlessly removed genre categories from his creative repertoire. The prominent composer and arranger embraces a modern Black/African Diasporic perspective that speaks through his various-sized ensembles, which include Nation of Imagination, Tailgater’s Tales, Harlem Nightsongs, and his former large ensemble Cold Sweat — a tribute to the music of James Brown. These ensembles are entrenched in the reservoirs of R&B, funk, swing, spoken word, blues, shout and holla, jazz, and improvisation. The native of Hempstead, Long Island, adopted Harlem as his second home more than three decades ago and has been a committed community activist, using his music as a voice for change. Some of his inspired original works reflecting social justice and human rights include “Brown Butterfly,” a tribute to the dazzling movements of Muhammad Ali; and “BREATHE,” a sonic statement in response to the longterm and current injustices inflicted on African American people. For these tumultuous times, Harris titled his weekly Thursday music series “Rhythms of Resistance.” He leads his Harlem Nightsongs Big Band at the Mount Morris Ascension Presbyterian Church (15 Mt. Morris Park West) from 7 p.m.–8:15 p.m. “This concept is in the spirit of rehears-
Tyshawn Sorey in the studio in 2023. (Tyshawnsorey / commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tyshawn_Sorey_in_Studio.jpg)
al bands during the 1940s, when musicians wrote music and gathered together each week to rehearse. It is in this tradition that we come together,” said Harris. “We are here to share the music.” His regular collaborators include trumpeters Eddie Allen and Franz Hackl; woodwinds, Jay Rodriguez and Frank Vacin; keyboards, Yayoi Ikawa; bassist Jordyn Davis; drummer Gary Jones; and vocalists Milton Suggs and Sista Zock. The big band is in full swing as Harris plays and conducts, giving ample opportunity for band members to stretch out with expressive solos that reach out and touch. There is feeling in the music. In these unusual times of political anarchy led by an authoritarian president, the music serves as a soothing, healing call to action and spiritual force. At the same location every Friday at 7 p.m., Harris presents the Harlem Jazz Series — on June 13, award-winning cellist and composer Akua Dixon; June 20, guitarist and composer Bruce Edwards, longtime member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, along with Gary Bartz, James Carter, and pianist/ keyboardist, composer, arranger Rod Williams, whose resume includes stints with David Murray, Henry Threadgill, Oliver Lake, Lester Bowie, and Olu Dara. Harris is a sonic shaman, a conceptualist expanding the music far beyond the restrictive confines of jazz. He is the only artist in Harlem who promotes improvisational progressive music — a music of the spirit that inspires and invigorates the soul. “Organize, strategize, mobilize,” said Harris.
Craig Harris (Ron Scott Associates photo)
This Black American Music requires and deserves community support, not just tourists! Let’s attend these weekly dynamic, uplifting performances, supporting the artists who have dedicated their lives to making music for the masses. For more information, visit harlemjazzboxx. com or artsandeducationcontinuum.org. On June 14, master percussionist Chief Baba Neil Clarke pays homage to his longtime friend and bandleader pianist NEA Jazz Master Randy Weston, at Sista’s Place (456 Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn). Two shows at 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Clarke performed with Weston’s acclaimed African Rhythms ensemble (known for its Pan African core) for more than 30 years. “The day before Father’s Day, I wanted to celebrate Randy because to us, he was the Father of Brooklyn Jazz,” Clarke said during a phone interview. “We originally named this project ‘Westonism’ and performed it in April 2018, to celebrate Randy’s birthday. We were so happy that he attended the concert and really liked our interpretation of his music without piano. We wanted the music to be reviewed on its merit, not on a comparison of pianos.” The original members of Westonism remain intact: bassist Alex Blake (another longtime member of Weston’s ensemble), vibraphonist Bryan Carrot, and Khuent Rose on steel pan. “We continue the exploration of Randy’s music without piano,” said Clarke. For reservations, call 718-398-1766. It may be too late, but Dionne Warwick enthusiasts best run to the Apollo Theater to pick up your tickets for her upcoming
one-night-only show on June 27. To commemorate Black Music Month, Grammy-winning icon/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Warwick will perform her one-woman show, “Don’t Make Me Over, One Night Only.” Backed by a four-piece band, the legendary singer will perform memorable classics like “Walk on By,” “I Say A Little Prayer,” and “That’s What Friends Are For” as well as her first hit record, “Don’t Make Me Over.” Her son, manager, and Grammy-winning producer Damon Elliott will join her on stage for an insightful evening of Warwick sharing stories about her stellar career and achievements, and the creation of her music. The event incorporates a multimedia show featuring rare archival footage (with Warwick working behind the scenes with the longtime songwriting/production team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David). This serves as a homecoming: She first appeared on the world-famous stage Apollo in the late 1950s in her late teens. For tickets, visit apollotheater.org. As we celebrate Black Music Month, there is one album/CD that must be heard. It turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime performance and experience for those present. America’s most influential song stylists in music history — Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Carmen McRae — appeared on the same stage for the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, recorded live (Verve release, 1958). The noted ladies of song performed on separate days, accompanied by their own trios. What a festival that was: three consecutive nights of Billie, Ella, and Carmen!
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Trash Talk: New sealed garbage containers hit uptown streets
An composting Empire Bin. (Tandy Lau photo)
By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News staff reporter
Manhattan Board Community 9 is the first tainerized trash, thanks to the rollout of roughly North American neighborhood with fully con- 1,100 “Empire Bins” for high-density residential buildings last week. Mayor Eric Adams did not waste his opportunity to make a Star Wars pun. “Our Empire Bins are striking back at rats and garbage in West Harlem,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “When I said four years ago that we were going to have cleaner streets and fewer vermins, the cynics rolled their eyes. They said it was not possible, it was something you have to just accept in New York because of the number of rodents we have in our city. And we said no to that.” But the Empire Bins remain closer to a prequel. The NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) pilot stretches across the West Harlem neighborhoods of Morningside Heights, Manhattanville, Hamilton Heights and Sugar Hill where the city assigned a rat mitigation zone. Containerizing garbage keeps the black trash bags — a significant food source for the rodents — off the sidewalks and in sealed, rodent-proof receptacles. Each Empire Bin comes at the cost of a street parking space. The roughly 1,100 receptacles will service around 29,000 West Harlem households. Buildings boasting more than 30 units are mandated to use an Empire Bin while those with 10 to 30 units can opt-in or alternatively containerize with a smaller “wheelie” bin. Around half of optional buildings opted in, according to the city. “These bins are sturdy, rodent-resistant, and locked for use only by specific buildings and their staff,” said acting DSNY commissioner Javier Lojan. “Servicing these Empire Bins required a truck that did not exist anywhere in North America. It had to be de© 2024 Consumer Cellular Inc. Terms and Conditions subject to change. signed and built, a process industry expert
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told us it would take five years. We got a prototype built in less than one year. Lojan is referring to the new automated side-loading garbage trucks. While they still require two-person crews, they do not require the same lifting and physical strain as the traditional rear-loader trucks. DSNY recently showed off the new containers and trucks to the AmNews for a late-evening pickup in Hamilton Heights. The containers are locked to prevent illegal dumping from private businesses. A keycard, given to each participating building’s superintendent, opens the bin with a tap. Given that the trash pickup occurred on a one-way street, a garbage truck with a righthanded side-loader pulled up. A red hydraulic arm lifted the Empire Bins up and over with ease, dumping the contents over the top rather than back. While the driver operated the side-loader, another sanitation worker stood by and carefully inspected. Now-NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch previously championed containerization when she headed DSNY. The 2023 report “The Future of Trash” delineated potential options for bins and trucks through examples in other major cities. The findings maintained containerization was viable on 89% of the Big Apple’s residential streets, which hold 77% of the city’s residential waste tonnage without taking up more than 10% of available parking spots. Shared containers, like the Empire Bins, would only be needed in 39% of street segments based on the 2023 findings. Smaller “wheelie” bins for private residences would be appropriate for half the street segments specifically in Staten Island, eastern Queens, southern Brooklyn, and northern Bronx.
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Delgado Continued from page 4
work in progress for Delgado. But he believes the current approach emphasizes punishment and strips away human dignity. Delgado extolled the alternative to incarceration approach and questioned why so many people, particularly seniors, remain incarcerated in New York City prisons for decades. “All we’re talking about is the nature of the crime when the nature of the crime never changes,” he said. “But maybe the person has.” He would not confirm support for existing bills like elderly parole but said such bills are the type of thinking he likes to see. With the recent killings of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi in New York State prisons, Delgado believes there is more room for accountability. The next governor will likely contend with the Trump administration’s continued shrinking of the federal government and attempts to cut back on federal resources, in-
cluding SNAP and health benefits. When asked about his plan to look out for New Yorkers who rely on federal assistance programs, Delgado said the state must step in. “You can’t just simply say call your congressperson…That’s not gonna stop or mitigate the harm,” Delgado said. “There needs to be a conversation on how we leverage our resources, whether it’s reserves or revenue-generating approaches. But we need to do everything we can to try to inject state resources in those areas with the most vulnerability.” On the need to support Minority-Women Business Enterprises (MWBEs), Delgado says there are still too many hurdles for Black and Latino-owned businesses, in particular, to access capital, and that there must be more intentionality behind efforts to grow these businesses. “I think we should probably be thinking about how to reimagine what it means to be labeled, and what type of advantages does it give you in a meaningful way other than being able to track these numbers,” Del-
gado said. “I’m all for making sure that we grow those businesses, but let’s make sure that when we grow them, they can actually thrive and provide for their families.” Beyond MWBEs, Delgado says capital must be brought directly to low-income communities through the Community Development Financial Institutions’ (CDFI) Fund. Beyond politics, he wants everyone to know about his hardwood days — Delgado was inducted into the Upstate New York Basketball Hall of Fame and played Division I for Colgate University. He also rapped under the name “AD the Voice” and mentions his album can be found on Spotify. Delgado previously served on Capitol Hill as upstate New York’s first ever Black and Brown congressman. He represented New York’s 19th congressional district which includes the Catskills and the Hudson Valley. “What I’ve learned in government, especially having served in upstate New York where a lot of people that I worked with were Republicans, you have to be in a position where, no matter what, you’re willing
June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025 • 27
to figure out how to find common ground and work through whatever differences there might be,” said Delgado, before passing around a basket of cornbread. He believes his experience will come in handy for whoever becomes New York City mayor. Delgado shrugged his shoulders when asked whether he preferred to work with a specific candidate. “I’m excited for the process to work itself out,” he concluded. An uphill climb awaits him in 2026. Hochul enjoys the incumbent’s advantage and continues collecting endorsements, most recently with Rep. Pat Ryan who now holds Delgado’s former House seat. And New York State is no longer an unassailable democratic stronghold if the last election provides any indication. Hochul and Delgado narrowly defeated Republican candidate Lee Zeldin two years ago in the closest race in decades. But first things first. Delgado needs his packet of syrup. Hochul’s campaign and the Governor’s Office both declined to comment.
she was trans? We heard that part, pointed to concerns from the federal mon- Law 42 is not about banning solitary conSolitary confinement mention right? Not that it shouldn’t matter. Because itor appointed to audit improvements to finement, because solitary confinement Continued from page 4
“I even witnessed a dorm mate who never returned back from solitary confinement: Layleen Polanco,” said Felder. “She died alone in a cold cell due to [NYC Department of Corrections’] negligence. Did I
she was a human first, as they all are. “So it’s unfortunate that the same officers who walk in from the street into the facilities quickly forget that. And it’s unfortunate that during this month, a lot of politicians cosplay as allies for LGBTQ detainees.” A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams
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city jail conditions over how Local Law 42 would impact constitutional compliance. “The safety of every person in our custody is our priority, and what happened to Kalief Browder in 2015 was a horrible tragedy that could have been prevented,” said the spokesperson. “But to be clear, Local
has not been used in New York City jails since 2019. “Instead, Local Law 42 would impede our ability to protect both the people in our custody and our staff — something the independent federal monitor himself has acknowledged multiple times.”
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THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Religion & Spirituality Fierce Love: Who are we? REV. DR. JACQUI LEWIS
FIERCE LOVE Look at this, y’all. Look at this! One Big Beautiful Bill, it’s being called. I don’t know, is it beautiful? Cutting programs for the poor to pass on tax cuts to the rich. Is any of this beautiful? Grabbing folks off the streets, out of restaurants, out of their apartments and cars, and out of hospital beds with ICE behaving like the Gestapo. Pretending to be supporting Gazans with food but shooting them as they gather to collect limited resources for their families. Raping and pillaging places like Congo and Sudan and watching as they implode. Pretending Ukraine invaded Russia. Unhinged policing, rolling back human rights for BIPOC, queer people, women and immigrants? An unholy cycle of violence against Jews and against Muslims — in the Holy Land and across the globe — all in the name of religion and land. I’m baffled, I’m bewildered, I’m devastated, I’m disappointed. I think, if I can say this with a little tang, I’m kind of “po’d” Who are we? I’m not going to suggest this is
new, because it is not. But is it who we want to be? When our children’s children grow up and ask about this time, what will they say about us, about our silence, about our fear, about our willingness to surrender to fascism? There are more of us — good people who want a better way — than the selfish folks with little imagination. So, what are good people of courage, vision and faith-in-love going to do about it? I’m a Christian clergy, and I know it is my job to love the stranger. To care for the outsider, to love my neighbor as myself. It’s my job to stand for the rights of all the people who are in wartorn lands, all struggling from genocidal policies. It’s my job to demand that this nation, which is not Christian to be sure, is guided by a public ethic of love, by respect, by understanding, by kindness. The only way to wake ourselves up from this nightmare of cruelty, hoarding and violence is to open our eyes wide to our shared humanity, and live as though our thriving is intertwined. Together, we can take a deep breath and lean into a future in which all the people matter, everyone has enough, and the planet and creatures breathe with us.That’s God’s dream, in my humble opinion. And I am supposed to be
loud about it. Jesus was loud about it. He had a Temple Tantrum about it. He died to stand up for an abundant and flourishing life for all of humanity.He advocated healing, teaching, preaching, and welcoming for all folks.That is what love looks like. And as Brother Cornell West says, justice is what love looks like in public. No matter your faith walk, even if you are agnostic or atheist: To be human on the planet, love is to share responsibility for making the planet better. Here are a few things we can do: 1.) Share good news when you see it and hear it. Good news begets good news. a. Share this amazing EasterWorship at Middle Church. It will warm your heart, I promise. 2.) Call your electeds and say, “Here is what I think….” And say what you think, in all the spaces and places you can, with respect. White House contact information: Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 TTY/TTD for Comments: 202-456-6213 3.) Ask your family and friends what they think. Have conversations that build connections. Use your compassion and listening skills to heal the world.
A Message from Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
These are terrifying times. My office is here to help. These cut-and-fold cards explain your rights. Cut them out. Carry them. Share them. Be ready if federal agents approach. Call my office if you need help (cards also available on our website including different languages). Un message du président de l’arrondissement de Manhattan Mark Levine
CONNAISSEZ VOS DROITS
Ce sont des temps effrayants. Mon bureau est là pour vous aider. Ces cartes decoupables expliquent vos droits. Découpez-les. Apportez-les. Partagezles. Soyez préparé si des agents fédéraux vous approchent. Appelez mon bureau si vous avez besoin d’aide (cartes également disponibles sur notre site Web dans différents langues).
4.) Donate to places that share your values. Donate to mutual aid, to artists, to justice organizations or to non-profits doing the work of justice, spirituality and the arts. a. You can donate to Middle here. 5.) Pray, meditate, take time for some spiritual practice. Center yourself in joy and silence when you can. 6.) Love hard — all the people — and yourself, too. In solidarity, Jacqui
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis is senior minister and public theologian at Middle Church in New York. Celebrated internationally for her dynamic preaching and commitment to justice, she champions racial equality, economic justice and LGBTQIA+/gender rights. Featured on MSNBC, PBS, NBC, CBS and NPR, she is the author of several books, including "Fierce Love” and the “Just Love Story Bible.” Countless individuals and communities have been inspired by Lewis’ transformative work on her podcast,“Love Period;” in columns and articles; and on stages, in churches, on the street and in digital spaces around the globe.
VOUS AVEZ DES DROITS CONSTITUTIONNELS! YOU HAVE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS!
• Vous avez le droit de ne pas ouvrir la porte si un agent d’immigration arrive. • You do not have to open the door if an immigration agent knocks on your door.
• Vous avez le droit de garder le silence avant de parler avec un avocat.
• You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer any questions from an immigration agent.
• Vous avez le droit de ne pas signer des documents avant de parler avec un avocat. • You have the right not to sign documents or speak with immigration agents without first speaking with a lawyer.
Vous pouvez montrer cette carte à l’agent d’immigration. Si vous êtes à l’intérieur de votre domicile, vous pouvez montrer la carte par la fenêtre ou sous la porte. Les informations fournies ici le sont à titre informatif uniquement et ne constituent pas un avis juridique.
I CHOOSE TO EXERCISE MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS! JE CHOISIS D’EXERCER MES DROITS CONSTITUTIONNELS!
1. I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand you any document. • Je ne souhaite pas vous parler, répondre à vos questions, ni signer ou vous remettre aucun document.
2. I do not give you permission to enter my home unless you have a warrant to enter, signed by a judge or magistrate with my name on it.
• Je ne vous autorise pas à rentrer dans mon domicile sans mandat d’entrée, signée par un juge ou un magistrat portant mon nom.
manhattanbp.nyc.gov (212) 531-1609 @mbpmarklevine
3. I do not give you permission to search any of my belongings. • Je ne vous autorise pas à fouiller mes effets personnels.
The information provided here is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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Labor Union Continued from page 10
which represents manufacturing, retail, food service, garment-making, and distribution center workers, endorsed both Mamdani and current NYC Comptroller Brad Lander –– they want members to consider both candidates in the ranked-choice voting due to take place in the primary. “During Lander’s time on the City Council, he relentlessly focused on protecting and strengthening workers’ rights and introduced Fair Work Week and Just Cause legislation, which have become crucial protections for workers in NYC,” the Workers United endorsement announcement said. “As NYC Comptroller, he led a coalition of Starbucks shareholders to pass a resolution requiring an independent assessment of the company’s labor practices and has been a key ally to our union during the Starbucks campaign. As a State Assemblymember, Mamdani has shown up again and again for our members in his district and beyond. From nail salon workers to taxi workers, he has consistently fought for justice for the most exploited and often forgotten parts of the working class.” The Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR/SEIU), the largest resident physician union in the country, said Mamdani’s prioritizing of universal healthcare access and investments in frontline healthcare workers helped push their support of his candidacy. “As doctors, we’re taught to listen to the needs of the most marginalized — Zohran’s campaign is
With Democratic Party primary elections scheduled for June 24 and the general election on November 4, 2025, these endorsements indicate which candidates are prioritizing the interests of New York City’s workers. doing exactly that,” said Dr. Soaptarshi Paul, a union member and Internal Medicine resident. “And we’re proud to stand with him.” Other labor unions that have voiced support for Mamdani are the film and television industry workers of IATSE Local 161; City University of New York’s union workers in PSC/CUNY; NYC’s largest municipal employees union, District Council 37; UNITE HERE Local 100’s cafeteria, dining room, and restaurant workers; and the delivery and warehouse employees of Teamsters Local 804.
Comptroller endorsements: Teamsters Local 237, the nation’s largest Teamsters local, which represents New York City and Suffolk County school safety officers and NYCHA workers, is backing Mark Levine for NYC comptroller. Teamsters 237 President Gregory Floyd said: “Mark has spent his whole career fighting to improve the lives of the hardworking people of New York City. He understands the needs of people who keep our NYCHA apartments, public schools, and hospitals, CUNY campuses, and homeless shelters safe and run-
ning. We know that he will work around the clock to ensure that New York City will become a fairer, safer, and more affordable place for working people like our Teamsters 237 members.” Levine has also been endorsed by several other unions, including Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 1; 1199SEIU; District Council 37; Actors’ Equity Association; Retail, Wholesale & Department Store Union (RWDSU); International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District 9; IBEW; and Workers United. The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) endorsed Justin Brannan for comptroller. “Justin Brannan has a strong track record of fighting for nurses throughout this City,” said NYSNA First Vice President and nurse at NYC Health+Hospitals/Woodhull Dr. Judith Cutchin. “As Finance Chair, Justin stood with NYSNA as we fought for more good nursing jobs and safe staffing in our Health+Hospitals system. When nurses were fighting big employers and corporate interests, Justin Brannan had our backs. Brannan stood with us when we fought for pay equity, and we know he will continue to fight for the needs of our communities.” Some of Brannan’s many endorsements are from 32BJ SEIU; the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council (HTC); PSC/CUNY; the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA); the United Auto Workers Region 9A; the Uniformed EMS Officers Union Local 3621; the EMS workers union, Local 2507; and Transport Workers Union Local 100.
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June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025 • 31
ANDREW CUOMO WILL DELIVER AS MAYOR.
BUT CUOMO NEEDS OUR VOTE. As Governor, Andrew Cuomo raised the minimum wage, passed paid family leave and implemented and defended Obamacare. As Mayor, Cuomo will: MAKE THE SUBWAY SAFE BUILD MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE TO $20 AN HOUR EXPAND FREE CHILDCARE OPTIONS
CUOMO IS ENDORSED BY:
SAMPLE BALLOT
C H O I C E
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ME CUOMO’S THE 6TH NA AKE M ON YOUR BALLOT BUT E HIM YOUR #1 CHOIC mdani Zohran Kwame Ma
Mayor Choice 1 of
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H. CARL MCCALL, FORMER NEW YORK STATE COMPTROLLER • GREG MEEKS, CONGRESSMAN & CHAIRMAN OF THE QUEENS DEMOCRATIC PARTY • RODNEYSE BICHOTTE HERMELYN, ASSEMBLYWOMAN & CHAIRWOMAN OF THE BROOKLYN DEMOCRATIC PARTY
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Zohran Kwame Mamdani
Zohran Kwame Mamdani
Zohran Kwame Mamdani
Zohran Kwame Mamdani
Zohran Kwame Mamdani
UNIONS AND CLERGY LEADERS SUPPORT CUOMO FOR MAYOR
Scott M. Stringer
Scott M. Stringer
mew Selma K. Bartholo
Scott M. Stringer
Scott M. Stringer
Scott M. Stringer
Scott M. Stringer
Selma K. Bartholomew
Selma K. Bartholomew
Selma K. Bartholomew
Selma K. Bartholomew
Selma K. Bartholomew
1199SEIU • SEIU 32BJ • DISTRICT COUNCIL 9 • DISTRICT COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS • HOTEL AND GAMING TRADES COUNCIL • UNIFORMED FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION • UNIFORMED FIRE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION • 27 NYCHA TENANT ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTS • AND MORE THAN 40 CLERGY LEADERS, INCLUDING • REVEREND DR. JOHNNIE GREEN OF MOUNT NEBOH BAPTIST CHURCH • REVEREND DR. KEVIN R. JOHNSON OF ABYSSINIAN BAPTIST CHURCH
Zellnor Myrie
Zellnor Myrie
Zellnor Myrie
Zellnor Myrie
Zellnor Myrie
Zellnor Myrie
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Adrienne E. Adams
Adrienne E. Adam
o
Adrienne E. Adams
Adrienne E. Adams
Adrienne E. Adams
Andrew M. Cuom
Andrew M. Cuomo
Adrienne E. Adams
Andrew M. Cuomo
Andrew M. Cuomo
Andrew M. Cuomo
Andrew M. Cuomo
Kevin S. Parker
Jessica Ramos
Jessica Ramos
Whitney R. Tilson
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Whitney R. Tilso
Whitney R. Tilson
Jessica Ramos
Jessica Ramos
Jessica Ramos
Jessica Ramos
Whitney R. Tilson
Whitney R. Tilson
Whitney R. Tilson
VOTE ANDREW CUOMO FOR MAYOR Michael Blake
Michael Blake
Michael Blake
Michael Blake
Michael Blake
Michael Blake
Brad Lander
Brad Lander
Brad Lander
Brad Lander
Brad Lander
Brad Lander
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY JUNE 24
Paperboy Love Prince
Paperboy Love Prince
Paperboy Love Prince
Paperboy Love Prince
Paperboy Love Prince
Paid for by Fix the City, Inc. The Chief Operating Officer is Meaghan Brown. The top three donors to the organization are DoorDash, Matthew Hulsizer, and John Fish. Not expressly or otherwise authorized or requested by any candidate or the candidate’s committee or agent. More information at nyc.gov/FollowTheMoney. Write-in
Sources: Daily News 12/12/18; Daily News 10/26/18; NY Times 6/4/17, NY Post, 3/9/25, Daily News, 4/13/25, NY Times, 5/28/25, NY Times 3/3/25
VOTE EARLY JUNE 14-22
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32 • June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
CLASSIFIED ADS 100 PUBLIC NOTICES RULES AND REGULATIONS CANCELLATIONS must be made in writing by 12 Noon Monday. The forwarding of an order is construed as an acceptance of all advertising rules and conditions under which advertising space is sold by the NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS. Publication is made and charged according to the terms of this card. Rates and regulations subject to change without notice. No agreements as to position or regulations, other than those printed on this. Til forbid orders charged for rate earned. Increases or decreases in space take the rate of a new advertisement. The New York AMSTERDAM NEWS reserves the right to censor, reject, alter or revise all advertisements in accordance with its rules governin g the acceptance of advertising and accepts no liability for its failure to insert an advertisement for any cause. Credit for errors in advertisements allowed only for first insertion. CLASSIFIED • Classified advertisements take the regular earned rate of their classification. Four line minimum on all ads except spirituals and horoscopes (14 lines). CLASSIFIED DISPLAY • Classified Display (boarder or picture) advertisements take the regular earned rate of their classification. Display (boarder or picture) advertisements one column wide must be 14 lines deep; two columns, 28 lines deep; 3 columns, 56 lines deep. Classified Display (boarder or picture) placed as close to classifications as rules and makeup permit. CLASSIFICATIONS All advertisement accepted for publication is classified according to the standard classifications. Misclassification is not permitted. BASIS OF CHARGE Charges are based on point size and characters per line. Upon reaching 15 lines the rate converts to column inch. Any deviation from solid composition such as indentation, use of white space, bold type, etc., will incur a premium. In Case of error, notify the Amsterdam News 212-932-7440
101 LEGAL NOTICES SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. RUSSELL R. WEBBER and BARBARA A. WEBBER, Trustee of the RUSSELL R WEBBER and BARBARA A. WEBBER TRUST dated April 9, 2010, Defts. - Index # 850498/2024. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated May 21, 2025, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse located 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.0741276267592057% and an undivided 0.1505136467542480% tenants in common interest in the timeshare known as Phase II of HNY CLUB SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $80,859.31 plus costs and interest as of March 13, 2025. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Mark McKew, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORKWELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., Plaintiff AGAINST LAWRENCE LEE; ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered January 22, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on July 16, 2025 at 2:15 pm, premises known as 100 West Street 58th 3A aka 100 West Street 58th #3A, New York, NY 10019. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, Block: 1010 Lot: 1412. Approximate amount of judgment $209,178.35 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850431/2023. Elaine Shay, Esq., Referee Tromberg, Morris & Partners, PLLC 39 Broadway, Suite 1250 New York, NY 10006 25-001042 86117 VESSEL GLOBAL CAPITAL LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/3/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 31 Hudson Yards, Office 51, New York, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful act.
101 LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York , Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, not in its individual capacity, but solely as owner trustee for CSMC 2018-RPL6 Trust , Plaintiff, vs . Jose N. Ramos , ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision and Order on Motion duly entered on February 6, 2025 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on July 9, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 526 West 175th Street, New York, NY 10033. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 2131 and Lot 37. Approximate amount of judgment is $414,581.31 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850008/2024. Mark McKew, Esq., Referee Friedman Vartolo LLP, 85 Broad Street, Suite 501, New York, New York 10004, Attorneys for Plaintiff. Firm File No.: 232895-1
223 W 29TH OWNER LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/25/25. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 431 W 37th Street, #2A, New York, NY 10018. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Qualification of NUVEEN STRATEGIC RETAIL INVESTORS LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/18/25. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/12/25. Princ. office of LP: 730 Third Ave., NY, NY 10017. NYS fictitious name: NUVEEN STRATEGIC RETAIL INVESTORS L.P. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the Partnership at the princ. office of the LP. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
101 LEGAL NOTICES
101 LEGAL NOTICES
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -againstAMOS LINENBERG, GAIL P. BARTHOLOMEW-LINENBERG, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated September 11, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on July 2, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, being an undivided ownership interest as tenant-in-common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an appurtenant undivided .009864% common interest percentage. This is a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1009 and Lot 37. Said premises known as 102 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10019 Approximate amount of lien $16,937.46 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850257/2023. DORON LEIBY, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 DLG# 39115 {* AMSTERDAM*}
Notice of Formation of LEAPS AND HURDLES, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/28/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 2410 8th Ave., Apt. 13F, NY, NY 10027. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -againstJACQUELINE LEE ABRAMS, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 12, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on July 9, 2025 at 2:15p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, being an undivided ownership interest as tenantin-common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an appurtenant undivided 0.01972800000% common interest percentage. This is a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1009 and Lot 37. Said premises known as 102 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10019 Approximate amount of lien $36,377.42 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850307/2023. RONALD ZEZIMA, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 DLG# 39332 {* AMSTERDAM*} NOTICE Notice is hereby given that a license, number NA-0340-25116185 for Liquor has been applied for by the undersigned to sell Liquor at retail in a Restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 230 E 58th St, New York, New York, New York County for on premises consumption. 886 Culinarians LLC, JABA NYC RESTAURANT
ANGEL GLOW GROUP LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/11/2025. Office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 700 W 178TH ST APT22, NEW YORK, NY,10033. Purpose: Any lawful act.
RESILIENT SUSTAINABLE HABITABLE PROGRESSIVE ARCHITECTURE PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/31/2025. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: Tower 45, 120 W 45TH St, STE 2801, New York, NY 10036. Purpose: Any lawful act.
101 LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF SALE In pursuance and by virtue of a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly granted and entered in an action entitled NYCTL 1998-2 Trust and The Bank of New York Mellon as Collateral Agent and Custodian for the NYCTL 1998-2 Trust v. 249 West 131 Street Associates LLC, et al., bearing Index No. 153894/2017 on or about April 2, 2025, by the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, I, the Referee, duly appointed in this action for such purpose, will expose for sale and sell at public auction to the highest bidder on June 25, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., at the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, Room 130, New York, New York 10007, the liened premises designated as Block 1937, Lot 12, in the City of New York, County of New York and Borough of Manhattan, State of New York and known as 249 West 131 st Street, New York, New York 10027 , directed in and by said judgment to be sold. The sale will be conducted pursuant to the Court’s Auction Rules and any COVID Restrictions. The approximate amount of the judgment is $17,625.04 plus interest and other charges, and the property is being sold subject to the terms and conditions stated in the judgment, any prior encumbrances and the terms of sale which shall be available at the time of sale. Dated: May 22, 2025 New York, New York Elaine Shay, Esq. Referee 800 Third Avenue Suite 2800 New York, New York 10022 (212) 520-2690 David P. Stich, Esq. Attorney for Plaintiff 521 Fifth Avenue, 17th Floor New York, New York 10175 (646) 554-4421 Notice of qualification of EC A2 SLIHC Taxpayer LLC (“LLC”). Application for Authority filed with the Secy. of State of New York (“SSNY”) on March 13, 2025. Office location: New York County. Principal business location: 505 Eighth Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, New York 10018. LLC formed in Delaware (“DE”) on February 28, 2025. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: EC A2 SLIHC Taxpayer LLC, c/o Common Ground Management Corporation d/b/a Breaking Ground Management, 505 Eighth Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, New York 10018. DE address of LLC: EC A2 SLIHC Taxpayer LLC, c/o The Corporation Trust Company, Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Building, 401 Federal Street, Suite 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.
June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025 • 33
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
101 LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK CHANG HWA COMMERCIAL BANK, LTD., in its capacity as the administrative agent for Hua Nan Commercial Bank, Ltd. and itself, the syndicated lenders (Plaintiff) AGAINST WATERSCAPE RESORT II, LLC , et al., (Defendants), Index No. 850050/2021 Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision and Order on Motion dated February 14, 2025 and entered February 18, 2025 (the “Judgment”), and such Judgment entered by the New York County Clerk’s Office on May 20, 2025, I, Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., the undersigned Referee, duly appointed in this action for such purpose, will sell at public auction at the New York County Supreme Court, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, on July 9, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. , on that date, the premises directed to be sold by said Judgment, commonly known as Hotel Unit 1, Hotel Unit 2, and Commercial Unit 3 in the Condominium known as the “Cassa NY Condominium” located at 66-70 West 45th Street, New York, New York 10036 (Block 1260, Lots 1101, 1102 and 1103). The approximate amount due as per the Judgment is $98,961,016.28, plus interest, fees, and costs. The premises shall be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and the terms of sale. Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., Referee THOMPSON COBURN LLP Mark T. Power Brigitte R. Rose Attorneys for Plaintiff 488 Madison Avenue New York, New York 10022 Tel: (212) 478-7200 CRG CAPITAL GROUP LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/08/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 134 West 29th Street, 4th Fl, New York, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful act. Wanyeki Technologies LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/25/2025. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 222 E 34th Street APT 2325, New York, New York, 10016. Purpose: Any lawful act. Notice of Qualification of 1580 NOSTRAND AVE OWNER LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/08/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/12/25. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
101 LEGAL NOTICES
101 LEGAL NOTICES
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NEW YORK STATE 2026-2030 CONSOLIDATED PLAN To participate in certain federal community development and housing programs, the State of New York must prepare a 5-year Consolidated Plan and an annual Action Plan and provide opportunities for citizens to participate in its development. As part of this process, the State will conduct public hearings to obtain the views of citizens, public agencies, local governments, and other interested parties on the housing and non-housing community development needs of the State before a draft Consolidated Plan for 2026-2030 and a draft annual Action Plan for 2026 are prepared. The Consolidated Plan and the annual Action Plan focus principally on five federal programs: the New York State Community Development Block Grant Program; the HOME Investment Partnerships Program; the Housing Trust Fund; the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program; and the Emergency Solutions Grants Program. The Consolidated Plan will be a five-year strategy for addressing the housing and non-housing community development needs of New York communities. The Consolidated Plan will set forth long-term goals for the development of viable communities by providing decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons. New York State must submit a completed Consolidated Plan to the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development by August 15, 2026. The State of New York seeks to obtain the views of citizens and interested parties on the development of the 2026-2030 Consolidated Plan and 2026 Annual Action Plan. As part of this process, the State will conduct a series of virtual public hearings on Monday, June 23, 2025 , at 10:00 am and Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 1 pm to give a brief overview of the program objectives and timeline for remaining Plan development. Interested parties may participate via computer, telephone, or in person. Information on how to participate in the virtual public hearing may be found at https://hcr.ny.gov/pressroom or by requesting a direct link through HCRConPln@hcr.ny.gov . For any person that wishes to present testimony in person, the following HCR locations will be connected to the virtual hearing via Web- ex; 641 Lexington Avenue in New York City; 38-40 State Street in Albany; 620 Erie Boulevard West in Syracuse; and 535 Washington Street in Buffalo. Reservations are required for individuals wishing to attend hearings in person . Interested individuals must RSVP by calling (518) 486-3452 or sending an e-mail to HCRConPln@hcr.ny.gov no later than 5:00 pm Friday, June 20, 2025. Attendees must present a valid driver’s license or other government-issued photo ID upon entry to any of the facilities. Each site is accessible to individuals with mobility impairments. Every effort will be made to accommodate persons with other special needs. To do so, it will be necessary to receive any requests no later than June 18, 2025. Individuals seeking additional information regarding the hearings may call (518) 486-3452. All speakers are urged to provide a written copy of their community needs testimony. Individuals who are unable to attend in real time may view the recorded presentation on our website: https://hcr.ny.gov/pressroom and submit comments to NYS HCR, Attention: Rachel Yerdon, 3840 State Street, Albany, NY 12207, or e-mail them to HCRConPln@ hcr.ny.gov. All comments must be received no later than Friday, June 27, 2025. HFBFD LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/28/2021. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 156A East 83rd Street, New York, NY 10028. Purpose: Any lawful act.
MAKEUP BY T LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/14/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 105 W 13 Street Apt 4E, New York, NY 10011. Purpose: Any lawful act.
GTM ADVISORS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/12/05. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 235 East 87th St, Apt 12L, New York, NY 10128. Purpose: Any lawful act.
Greater Harlem Chamber SPV1, LLC LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 5/8/25. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 200A W136th Street, New York, NY 10030. Purpose: Any lawful act.
Stoller & Pileggi LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/05/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 407 E. 91st St., Apt. 5E, New York, NY 10128. Purpose: Any lawful act.
Forty Whiskers LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/07/2025. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 223 W38TH ST, BOX 493, New York, NY, 10018. Purpose: Any lawful act.
Clay Bridges LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 4/17/25. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 601 W 149th St 67, NY, NY 10031. Purpose: Any lawful act.
Royvolution LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 4/17/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 34th Ave. #977, Anchorage, Ak 99503. Purpose: Any lawful act.
101 LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -againstMADAPPALLIL GEORGE, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated October 9, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on July 2, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, being an undivided ownership interest as tenantin-common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an appurtenant undivided .009864% common interest percentage. This is a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1009 and Lot 37. Said premises known as 102 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10019 Approximate amount of lien $13,410.42 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850276/2023. DORON LEIBY, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 DLG# 39169 {* AMSTERDAM*} NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK PHH MORTGAGE CORPORATION, Plaintiff AGAINST BONNIE WIENER AS HEIR TO THE ESTATE OF LINDA ORLIN, UNKNOWN HEIRS OF LINDA ORLIN IF LIVING, AND IF HE/SHE BE DEAD, ANY AND ALL PERSONS UNKNOWN TO PLAINTIFF, CLAIMING, OR WHO MAY CLAIM TO HAVE AN INTEREST IN, OR GENERAL OR SPECIFIC LIEN UPON THE REAL PROPERTY DESCRIBED IN THIS ACTION; ET AL., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered January 23, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on June 25, 2025 at 2:15PM, premises known as 220 East 60th Street, Unit 5M, New York, NY 10022. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, Section 5, Block 1414, Lot 1055. Approximate amount of judgment $591,441.70 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850197/2022. Christy M. Demelfi, Esq., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC 1775 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 20001018 84608
101 LEGAL NOTICES
SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK THE BOARD OF MANAGERS OF 435 EAST 117TH STREET CONDOMINIUM, Plaintiff -against- CHRISTINE HEALEY, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated June 29, 2023 and entered on July 3, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse located in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on July 2, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, State and County of New York, known and designated as Section 6 Block 1711 and Lot 1203. Said premises known as 435 EAST 117TH STREET, UNIT NO. 3, NEW YORK, NY Approximate amount of lien $57,680.99 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 152950/2022. GEORGIA PAPAZIS, ESQ., Referee Mitofsky Shapiro Neville & Hazen, LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 152 MADISON AVENUE, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10016 {* AMSTERDAM*} NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York , Piermont Bank , Plaintiff, vs . 315 Manhattan Properties LLC , ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on January 31, 2025 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on July 9, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 315 West 121st Street, New York, NY 10027. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 1948 and Lot 22. Approximate amount of judgment is $3,640,907.48 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850023/2024. Mark McKew, Esq., Referee Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP, 100 Motor Parkway, Suite 560, Hauppauge, New York 11788, Attorneys for Plaintiff Notice of Formation of DETOX BY REBECCA NYC LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/28/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
101 LEGAL NOTICES
SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. CITIMORTGAGE, INC., Plaintiff -against- WEI TIENG HUR, if living and if dead, etc..., et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein and dated February 20, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on July 16, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, known and designated as Unit No. 5A in the condominium known as "Observatory Place Condominiums" together with an undivided 2.41 percent interest in the common elements. Block: 1676 Lot: 1420 Said premises known as 2019 1ST AVENUE, UNIT 5A a/k/a 2019-2023 1ST AVENUE, UNIT 5A, NEW YORK, NY 10029 Approximate amount of lien $321,532.88 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee or the Mortgagee’s attorney. Index Number 850269/2019. MARK MCKEW, ESQ., Referee David A. Gallo & Associates LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 47 Hillside Avenue, 2nd Floor, Manhasset, NY 11030 File# 7777.059 {* AMSTERDAM*} NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK: COUNTY OF NEW YORK. HANOVER BANK. Pltf v. STOCKBRIDGE EQUITIES CORP , et al., Defts. Index No. 850003/2023 pursuant to the Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated March 5, 2025 and entered on March 6, 2025, I will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, at the Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, New York, room 130 on July 2, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., prem. k/a 5 East 124th Street, New York, New York (Block 1749, Lot 6). Approx. amt of judgment is $ 3,017,025.15, plus costs, attorneys’ fees in the amount of $75,000 and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. George Papazis Esq., Referee. Jacobowitz Newman Tversky LLP, Attys. for Plaintiff’s assignee, Uncle A LLC, 377 Pearsall Ave., Ste C, Cedarhurst, NY. FIVE IRON GOLF APP LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/11/2024. Office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 883 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS FL 3, NEW YORK, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful act.
34 • June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
101 LEGAL NOTICES
101 LEGAL NOTICES
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT NEW YORK COUNTY
NOTICE OF SALE
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff against
SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK , mary djurasevic , Plaintiff, vs . marcy ellin boucher, a/k/a marcy ellen boucher, a/k/a marcy e. boucher a/k/a marcy boucher ET AL. , Defendant(s).
NERA PROPERTY HOLDING LLC, et al Defendant(s) Attorney for Plaintiff(s) Parker Ibrahim & Berg LLP, 5 Penn Plaza, Suite 2371, New York, NY 10001. Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered June 3, 2022, and Amended on June 30, 2022 I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at Room 130 at the Supreme Court, New York County, 60 Centre Street, New York, New York on June 25, 2025 at 2:15 PM. Premises known as 531 West 162nd Street, New York, NY 10032. Block 2122 Lot 13. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York. Approximate Amount of Judgment is $829,409.72 plus interest, fees, and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No 850232/2018. The foreclosure sale will be conducted in accordance with 1st Judicial District's Covid-19 Policies and foreclosure auction rules. The Referee shall enforce any rules in place regarding facial coverings and social distancing. Referee will only accept a certified bank check made payable to the referee. Elaine Shay, Esq., Referee File # 850232/2018 NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK, U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY IN ITS CAPACITY AS INDENTURE TRUSTEE OF CIM TRUST 2020-R5, Plaintiff, vs. JOHN ANDREW LUMPKIN, ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on February 6, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, room 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on June 25, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 92 Perry Street a/k/a 382-384 Bleecker Street, Unit 20, New York, NY 10014. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, Block 621 and Lot 1120 together with an undivided 3.6214 percent interest in the Common Elements. Approximate amount of judgment is $636,042.05 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850416/2023. Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., Referee Friedman Vartolo LLP, 85 Broad Street, Suite 501, New York, New York 10004, Attorneys for Plaintiff. Firm File No.: 223771-1
Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly filed on February 6, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Supreme Court, Room 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on June 25, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 406 West 25 th Street, New York, N.Y. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of New York, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 722 and Lot 45. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 850003/2024. Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., Referee Law Offices of Morrison Cohen LLP, Joaquin Ezcurra, Esq., 909 Third Avenue, 27 th Floor, New York, NY 10022-4784, (212) 735-8600 Notice of Formation of WHITE PLAINS 711 WESTCHESTER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/21/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 1315 W. 54th St., 1st Fl., NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of formation of Limited Partnership (“L.P”). Name: Kingsboro SHOP 1 L.P. Certificate of Limited Partnership filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on April 24, 2025. N.Y. office location: New York County. The SSNY has been designated as agent of the L.P. upon whom process against it may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to Kingsboro SHOP 1 L.P., c/o Breaking Ground II Housing Development Fund Corporation, 505 Eighth Avenue, 5 th Floor, New York, New York 10018. The latest date upon which the L.P. shall dissolve is December 31, 2135 unless sooner dissolved by mutual consent of the partners or by operation of the law. Name/address of each general partner available from SSNY. Purpose: any lawful activity. Notice of Qualification of 154 PARTNERS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/01/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 08/15/24. Princ. office of LLC: 34 E 51st St., NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to CT Corporation System, 28 Liberty St., NY, NY 10005. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
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Notice of Qualification of 240 WILLOUGHBY GL, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/29/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/15/25. Princ. office of LLC: c/o Maritime Management, LLC, One Maritime Plaza, Ste. 2100, San Francisco, CA 94111. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, PO Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Purchase of real property.
Notice of Qualification of PRIVATE EQUITY VII (E&F) GP LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/15/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/06/25. Princ. office of LLC: 9 W. 57th St., 18th Fl., NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Summit Rock Advisors, LP at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Investments.
Notice of Qualification of SQUARE NINE CAPITAL, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/06/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/23/24. Princ. office of LLC: 292 Madison Ave., 22nd Fl., NY, NY 10017. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: c/o The Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of Qualification of TRYON PROPERTY OWNER, LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/29/25. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/27/18. Princ. office of LP: 440 S. Church St., Ste. 880, Charlotte, NC 28202. NYS fictitious name: TRYON PROPERTY OWNER, L.P. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK NewRez LLC d/b/a Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing, Plaintiff AGAINST The Estate of Carl Arak a/k/a Carl J. Arak, et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered February 4, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on July 2, 2025 at 2:15PM, premises known as 301 Cathedral Parkway, Apt. 6W, New York, NY 10026. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, Block: 1846, Lot: 1119. Approximate amount of judgment $179,740.69 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850211/2024. For sale information, please visit Auction.com at www.Auction. com or call (800) 280-2832. Tom Kleinberger, Esq., Referee Frenkel Lambert Weiss Weisman & Gordon, LLP 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 01-100355-F00 84632
Notice of Qualification of JCP CONGAREE CREDIT FUND LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/29/25. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/16/25. Princ. office of LP: 520 Madison Ave., 12th Fl., NY, NY 10022. NYS fictitious name: JCP CONGAREE CREDIT FUND L.P. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o The Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Qualification of BASKIR FIRST PROPERTIES LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/06/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/04/25. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: All legal activities especially property investment. HOMEWRIGHTS DEVELOPMENT, LLC filed Arts. of Org. with the Sect'y of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/24/2025. Office: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: The LLC, 380 Riverside Dr, Apt 7J, NY, NY 10025. Purpose: any lawful act.
Notice of Formation of THE CURATED BREAST LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/19/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 515 Marin Blvd., Jersey City, NJ 07302. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity. FIVE IRON GOLF MINNEAPOLIS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/03/2024. Office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 883 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS FL 3, NEW YORK, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful act. Notice of Formation of WHITE PLAINS 777 WESTCHESTER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/21/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 1315 W. 54th St., 1st Fl., NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of NEKO HEALTH 2 LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/28/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of Formation of WHITE PLAINS 701 WESTCHESTER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/21/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 1315 W. 54th St., 1st Fl., NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity. DEEPAK CHOPRA, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/25/25. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 41 East 11th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 315 WEST 92ND STREET LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/06/25. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o BDO, 200 Park Avenue, 38th Floor, New York, NY 10166. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Notice of Formation of NEKO HEALTH 3 LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/28/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity. LYYNC MEDIA LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/28/25. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Liu, Yiyi, 4357 Union Street, Unit 5C, Flushing, NY 11355. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
101 LEGAL NOTICES Notice of Qualification of REDUS EL, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/23/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/03/09. Princ. office of LLC: 401 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC 28202. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808-1674. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State-Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company (“LLC”). Name: Kingsboro SHOP 1 GP LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on April 24, 2025. N.Y. office location: New York County. The SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to Kingsboro SHOP 1 GP LLC, c/o Breaking Ground II Housing Development Fund Corporation, 505 Eighth Avenue, 5 th Floor, New York, New York 10018. Notice of Qualification of P. DREAMS 8805 LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/29/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/03/25. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Qualification of NUVEEN STRATEGIC RETAIL AGGREGATOR LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/18/25. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/11/25. Princ. office of LP: 730 Third Ave., NY, NY 10017. NYS fictitious name: NUVEEN STRATEGIC RETAIL AGGREGATOR L.P. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the Partnership at the princ. office of the LP. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Archie's Handy Works LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on Feb. 28, 2025. Office location: Manhattan County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 228 Park AVE S #608669, NY, NY. Purpose: Any lawful act. JABGRS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/28/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 382 CPW #17, NY, NY,10025. Purpose: Any lawful act.
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
101 LEGAL NOTICES
SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS, as Trustee, on behalf of the Registered Holders of Citigroup Commercial Mortgage Trust 2016P5, Commercial Mortgage Pass Through Certificates, Series 2016-P5, acting by and through its special servicer, LNR Partners, LLC, Plaintiff -against- JW EAST BWY LLC, et al., Defendant(s), Index No. 655575/2023. ruary 26, 2025 to a Judgment of Pursuant Foreclosure and Sale entered June 3, 2025, under NYSCEF S No. 158 101 (the LEGAL NOTICES the “Judgment”), undersigned Referee will sell at public auction to the highest a Notice of Qualification of AP in Room 130 of the New 5- bidder CREDIT SOLUTIONS HOLDCounty or YorkINGS (AIV) Courthouse, II, L.P. Appl. for60 he Centre Auth. Street, filed with Secy. State ofNY New ofYork, ne 10007, NY (SSNY) 01/08/25. on Julyon16, 2025 Office at 2:15 ulocation: NY County. LP formed p.m. (prevailing Eastern Time), 94 in Delaware (DE) on 12/26/24. property said Y the Princ. office in of LP: Attn:Judgment General n- directed Counsel, 9 W.sold, 57th St., 43rdpropFl., to be which Duration of LPas erty NY, mayNYbe10019. briefly described is Perpetual. SSNY designated the as real property located in agent of LP upon whom pro-the Borough of Manhattan, within cess against it may be served. a the SSNY mailand process to the of City, shall State County 4- NewPartnership at the princ. office York, and designated as of the LP. Name and addr. of & Lots 1101, 1102, by Block each279, general partner are avail1103, together with the or, and able from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: a fixtures, c/o Corporation Service personalty and Co., other ic rights 251orLittle Falls Dr., Wilmington, interests of any kind or 71 DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with thereon relatin nature The located Secy. of State of theorState as more particularly es ed thereto, of DE, Dept. of State, Div. of nt described Corps., in John Bldg., theTownsend Judgment. on SaidDover, DE 19901. Any11 premises are Purpose: known as lawful activity. EAST BROADWAY, The Royal Court Condominium, Unit Nos. 1A, 2A & 3A, NEW YORK, NY 10038 Approximate amount of Judgment is $23,303,940.33 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and the Terms of Sale, as referenced therein, which are available from Plaintiff’s counsel upon request. DORON LEIBY, ESQ., Referee VENABLE LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff, 151 W. 42nd Street, 49th Floor, New York, NY 10036, (212) 3706257, Attention: Rishi Kapoor, Esq.
June 12, 2025 - June 18, 2025 • 35
101 LEGAL NOTICES 101 LEGAL NOTICES 101 LEGAL NOTICES 101 LEGAL NOTICES LEGAL NOTICES Protests over immigration raids pop up101across the US, with more planned By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Protests over federal immigration enforcement raids and President Donald THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS Trump’s move to mobilize the National Guard and 195LEGAL HELP WANTED WANTED 101 NOTICES 195 HELP Marines in Los Angeles are spreading nationwide and Occupational Therapist PriContinued from page 4 are to continue ority Careexpected Staffing. Full time. Bronx. (36.4/ into75,712/year the weekend. hour) Evaluate patients’ WhileDevelop many conditions; and demonimplement treatment plans; the Imstrations against Demonstrate exercises to migration help relieve patients’and pain; Customs Evaluate results and progEnforcement agency have ress of occupational therapy been peaceful, with marchon patients; Educate caregivers family members ersand chanting slogans and of clients on patient care. uscarrying signs, others have otjobs@prioritycarestaffing. led to clashes with police, com. hundreds of arrests and the use of chemical irritants to disperse crowds. In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Girls that took part in the “Dear Sport” campaign uninhibitedly shared their feelings on their declining participation in Abbott posted on social organized sports. (Photo courtesy of Women in Sport) media that an unspecified number of National Guard of the demonstrators were they would do. were arrested there. usually public hearings. troops “will be deployed to peaceful and that just a few Another protest is Protests in the city on locations across the state to caused the disorder that re- planned in San Antonio on Sunday and Monday Chicago ensure peace & order.” quired police intervention. Saturday. swelled to several thouPolice say a 66-year-old Activists say they will hold “We want to maintain ev“I want to acknowledge sand demonstrators, and woman was injured when even larger demonstrations eryone’s right to protest the anger and frustration more than 150 people were she was struck by a car in the coming days, with peacefully in this city and that’s out there with the fed- arrested after some vandal- during protests in down“No Kings” events across in this country, but we will eral government’s crude in- ized buildings and dam- town Chicago. the country on Saturday not tolerate chaos and dis- terpretations of immigration aged cars, police vehicles Crowds of demonstrato coincide with Trump’s order or violence,” Tisch law and cruel approach to and buses. Police said two tors took over a plaza and planned military parade in said Wednesday morning human rights,’ Nirenberg officers suffered non-life- some surrounding streets {* AMSTERDAM*} Washington, D.C. during an appearance on said. “Exercise your right to threatening injuries. during rush hour on TuesThe Trump administra- Fox 5 New York. free speech, but I urge you to day evening. Video foottion said immigration raids Police said they took 86 keep it lawful and peaceful.” Seattle age shows a car speeding and deportations will con- people into custody, inAbout 50 people gath- along a road where people tinue regardless. cluding 52 who were re- Philadelphia ered outside the immigra- were protesting. A look at some protests leased with criminal court About 150 protesters tion court in downtown Police said the injured To display your Legal, across the country: summonses for minor gathered outside the Fed- Seattle on Tuesday, chant- woman was treated for a LLC, and classifieds crimes and 34 who were eral Detention Center in ing with drums and hold- fractured arm and that no ads contact: New York City charged with assault, resist- Philadelphia on Tuesday ing up signs that said, “Free other injuries were reported. Police detained more than ing arrest and other crimes. afternoon and marched to Them All; Abolish ICE” and Police are investigating and Ali Milliner 80 people during protests ICE headquarters then back “No to Deportations.” Pro- no charges have been filed. (347) 350-4316 in lower Manhattan’s Foley San Antonio to the detention center. testers blocked building enSquare on Tuesday evening A protest is planned Police ordered a group trances until police arrived. Denver ali.milliner Wednesday night in down- marching along a major road Mathieu Chabaud, with A group of protesters gath@amsterdamnews.com O DISPLAY YOUR LEGAL, LLC, ANDand early Wednesday. Protesters shouted and town San Antonio outside to disperse and when they Students for a Democratered before the Colorado CLASSIFIEDS ADS CONTACT: waved signs that includthe historic Alamo. San Anignored the orders officers ic Society at the Universistate capitol, creating a sea ALI MILLINER (347) 350-4316 ed “ICE out of NYC” as they tonio Police Chief William arrested 15 of them. Sever- ty of Washington, said they of cardboard signs, one exALI.MILLINER@AMSTERDAMNEWS.COM Or schedule your own rallied near an ICE facili- McManus said his depart- al officers used force during were there in solidarity with horting: “Show your faces. Legal and LLC advertising ty and federal courthous- ment encourages peaceful the arrests and their conduct the Los Angeles protesters, ICE cowards.” The group bySCHEDULE scanning the QROWN CodeBY OR YOUR es. Police estimated some demonstrations but will re- will be reviewed, police said, “and to show that we’re op- then split in half, with hunSCANNING THE QR CODE 2,500 people participated. spond “if something goes without detailing what kind posed to ICE in our com- dreds chanting and marchSome protesters jumped south and it turns violent.” of force was used. Two offi- munity.” ing down two thoroughfares over metal barricades Mayor Ron Nirenberg said cers suffered minor injuries. Legal advocates who and crowding out traffic. and clashed with officers he did not ask the governormally attend the imPolice ordered them to who wrestled them to the nor to deploy the Texas Na- San Francisco migration court hearings disperse. Officers used ground. Video shows dem- tional Guard to the city and About 200 protesters as observers and to pro- smoke and pepper balls onstrators throwing items city leaders said they did gathered outside the San vide support to immigrants to control the crowd and at law enforcement vehicles. not know how many troops Francisco Immigration were not allowed inside. 17 people were arrestPolice Commission- had been sent, where they Court on Tuesday after ac- Security guards also turned ed, Denver police said er Jessica Tisch said most would be stationed or what tivists said several people journalists away from the Wednesday.
Adams indictment
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Gun violence Continued from page 3
the city, both fatal and nonfatal. In recent years, the clearance rate for shootings has hovered around 40%. To do this, Myrie plans to hire 2,000 more NYPD detectives and create a specific unit focused on solving nonfatal shootings. “What happens now is that our detectives have the first 48 hours to direct attention [to a shooting], but then they are pulled off to tackle something else. And what I would like is a dedicated unit that is not going to be pulled off, but is going to be continually focused on solving the shooting,” he said. Myrie’s campaign said the initiative would not require additional funding, as the costs would be covered by what is already budgeted for in the current city budget, and savings from reduced NYPD overtime. Butts said it is hard to say how realistic a goal of solving 100% of shootings is, but that “[spending] public resources on clearing up all cases, especially nonfatal shootings, is of value.” Candidates also spoke about the importance of combating the “iron pipeline” through which guns are illegally trafficked to New York. Myrie highlighted his work as state senator, including passing a bill that allows gun violence survivors to pursue civil suits of irresponsible gun manufacturers. Lander said he would explore state gun insurance legislation in order to promote responsible gun ownership. Addressing root causes Research shows that gun violence concentrates in disinvested neighborhoods where residents struggle to afford quality housing, education, and healthcare. Many of the candidates have framed their campaigns around issues of affordability, proposing an array of policies to help low-income New Yorkers. “People having more money in their pocket means they’re less likely to have a gun in their pocket,” Blake said. He touted his housing plan, which calls for building more affordable housing, removing credit score requirements on rent and homeownership applications, and using local median income as a metric for neighborhood affordability rather than area median income. Myrie explained that his universal afterschool plan, which would provide afterschool seats for students from 3-K to 12th grade, would be a critical public safety tool. Research has found that juvenile delinquency and crime is highest between the hours of 2pm and 6pm. “[Afterschool programming] is what keeps our kids off the street while also empowering them and giving them the opportunity to grow into all of the beautiful things that we want them to be,” Myrie said. On a similar note, Stringer’s childcare plan
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS includes extending school hours to 4:30 pm. “Kids are the most vulnerable between the afternoon and going home. So why can’t we put them in programs that keep them busy and successful? You don’t have to turn to gangs, you don’t have to turn to guns when you feel that your life has purpose and respect,” he said. Lander has also proposed a universal afterschool program through eighth grade, and said his plans to improve healthcare and boost workforce development will also go towards creating safer neighborhoods. “The broader set of investments in housing, in schools, in good jobs, in healthcare and mental healthcare, in childcare, in parks, in the libraries, in open spaces, all of that is a part of this more deep root cause strategy addressing neighborhood trauma and disorder,” he said. Adams plans to expand the city’s network of trauma recovery centers (TRCs), which are designed to help survivors of violent crime heal physically and mentally. Having spearheaded efforts to create the city’s four existing TRCs, she wants to establish 20 more in precincts with the highest rates of violent crime. “TRCs help survivors heal and prevent further violence in their communities, but too often, survivors in the highest crime communities aren’t given access to tools and resources needed for recovery, perpetuating unaddressed trauma and cycles of violence,” Adams explained. Tilson, a charter schools advocate, said a main focus of his administration would be reforming the Department of Education, explaining that better quality education would steer youth away from the school-to-prison pipeline. “Some of it will involve more money. We need more money for tutors, for kids who are struggling readers early in elementary school. But some of it is just managing one of the world’s largest bureaucracies better, and I will appoint a real reform-oriented chancellor, and we will be expanding schools that are successfully educating kids, including charter schools,” he said. Mamdani highlighted his economic agenda, which promises sweeping reforms like freezing the rent for rentstabilized tenants and creating universal childcare and city-owned grocery stores. “The true addressing of [this crisis] can only come when you are addressing the immediate symptoms … and the root causes of it at the same time, and what our campaign presents is a vision that does exactly both,” he said. Shannon Chaffers is a Report for America corps member and writes about gun violence for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
School building in Harlem. Multiple candidates have proposed youth-focused policies like expanded afterschool as a root cause approach to gun violence. (Shannon Chaffers photo)
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THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S
Women in Sport publishes report on lack of inclusion of Black girls in sports By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews The United Kingdom-based organization Women in Sport holds the motto “Because women and girls belong.” Determining there was an issue of inclusion among Black girls in sports, Women in Sport carried out research on the topic and last month published a report entitled, “Black Girls and Sport: A Break Up Story.” The team launched a powerful companion campaign video, “Dear Sport,” in which Black girls explain why –– despite their love of sports –– they have ceased their engagement in organized sports. (https://youtu.be/TxPaloyJ3aA?si =iGjsIdD7jHC7sAzh). “We have spent the last 18 years or so researching teenage girls quite prolifically because we know it’s a really challenging life stage where girls are more likely to disengage with sports for a multitude of reasons,” said Tanya Martin, head of insight and innovation at Women in Sport. “Across the course of that research and looking at the data that
Girls that took part in the “Dear Sport” campaign uninhibitedly shared their feelings on their declining participation in organized sports. (Photo courtesy of Women in Sport)
we and other organizations had, we started to see trends. “What we found is that Black girls overall generally have a very positive attitude toward sport,” she
added. “Black girls, in particular, are twice as likely than white British girls to dream of becoming a top sports person. Yet that real love of sport that the girls have is not trans-
lating to what is actually happening on the ground. Black girls have the lowest physical activity of all girls from any ethnic group.” The research was conducted
from September 2024 through January 2025. Key points in the report are that 85% of Black girls say sport and physical activity are important for having fun and feeling happy and carefree. That number rises to 94% for those who are very active. But outside of school, only 14% of Black girls are active for 30 minutes or more on average. 32% of Black girls say they are frequently penalized or get in trouble for expressing themselves in sports and physical activity. Women in Sport is calling on sports leaders to commit to being proactive in addressing misogyny and racism through policies and effective leadership. Also, coaches need to make sports more joyful. “We recognize that women and girls are not a homogenous group, so we also work deeply to understand women and girls’ lives and needs in all their beautiful diversity,” said Martin. “We hope that this research will…get people talking about these real issues that Black women and girls are facing so that we can see shifts and get some real systemic change in sport.”
Keyshawn Davis’ career in chaos after being stripped of WBO title By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews Keyshawn Davis is in trouble again. After a majority decision victory over Nahir Albright in October 2023 was ruled a no-contest after he tested positive for marijuana, the Norfolk, Virginia native was stripped of his WBO lightweight world championship this past weekend. Scheduled to fight Edwin De Los Santos in the main event on Saturday night at his hometown Scope Arena in a match slated to be nationally televised on ESPN, Davis weighed in at 139.3 pounds, 4.3 pounds over the 13lb limit. As a result, the fight was canceled and Davis’ belt taken away by the WBO. It got worse for Davis after his brother, Kelvin Davis, lost to Albright by a majority decision in their WBC U.S. Silver junior-welterweight title bout on the same card, Keyshawn and Kelvin engaged in a physical altercation with Albright in the tunnel of the Scope. An assault report was filed with the Norfolk Police Department and a video of the scuffle appears to confirm the allegations made by Albright, which Kelvin Davis denied on social media.
The combination of events suggests that the 26-year-old Keyshawn Davis, who is 13-0 with a no-contest on his record as a professional, is not at a point in his career where he possesses the necessary self-discipline to be a longtime champion and event headliner. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics lightweight silver medalist would have been the featured boxer on a major card at the Scope for the second time. Instead, a suspension could, and should be in his future. His failure to make weight and confrontation with Albright was a stain on the sport, and blatant disregard for his opponent, promoter (Top Rank) and ESPN. MMA fighter Sean O’Malley invoked a torn labrum ––that he later had surgery on –– as the reason he lost his UFC bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili by a unanimous decision, last September. O’Malley couldn’t use injury as a reason in their rematch Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark as Dvalishvili defended his title by dominating the first two rounds in defeating him by submission in the third round at UFC 316. Kayla Harrison won
Keyshawn Davis (left), pictured knocking out Denys Berinchyk at Madison Square Garden in February to win the WBO lightweight title, was stripped of his belt last weekend. (Mikey Williams/Top Rank photo)
the UFC women’s bantamweight championship after dominating Julianna Pena and earning a second-round submission.
Next Saturday at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, IBF world junior welterweight champion and Brooklyn native, Rich-
ardson Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs), who is 27, will face former champion George Kambosos Jr. (22-3-0, 10 KOs), who is 31.
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THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S
The 9-0 Liberty remain unblemished with superlative season kickoff By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews
Despite significant roster changes, the New York Liberty are off to the best start in franchise history. They are 9-0 after defeating the Chicago Sky 85-66 at the Barclays Center on Tuesday night. All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu and two-time WNBA regular season MVP, forward Breanna Stewart, scored 23 and 18 points, respectively, and forward Kennedy Burke posted a solid 15. The Liberty can extend their unblemished record on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) when they face the 4-5 Indiana Fever on the road. The Minnesota Lynx, the team the Liberty defeated in last year’s finals, were also undefeated at 9-0 when they played the Seattle Storm last night. Last season, the Liberty won the WNBA championship with key contributions from guard-forward Benijah Laney-Hamilton, forward Kayla Thorton and guard Courtney Vandersloot. None of the trio is playing for the Liberty this season. LaneyHamilton is out for the season after suffering an acute meniscus injury to her left knee in March while participating in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league. Thorton was selected by the first-year franchise Golden State Valkyries in the WNBA expansion draft held in December. Vandersloot signed with the Sky in February as an unrestricted free-agent but unfortunately tore the ACL in her right knee last Saturday and will be sidelined for the remainder of this season. Yet, the Liberty, notably with the addition of guard Natasha Cloud, is arguably a better squad than they were in capturing the franchise’s first league title. The Liberty acquired Cloud from the Connecticut Sun after she had been dealt by the Phoenix Mercury to the Sun. The Liberty parted with the No. 7 overall pick in May’s draft in addition to next year’s first-round pick. Cloud had been worth the heavy price
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camp, offered what she meant to be a mea culpa on her Instagram account, but could be perceived as furtherance of her dismissiveness of Gauff. “You all know me … I’m always going to be honest and human and in how I process these moments … I can’t pretend it was a great day for me. “…I didn’t play my best, and Coco stepped up and played with poise and purpose … She earned that title. Respect…”
as she was named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week award in the first week of the season and has been impactful on both ends of the court. Her stats — 9.4 points and 6.2 assists per game — don’t fully reflect her value to winning. By and large, the Liberty have emphasized defense as the key to their success, underscored by holding the last four opponents to an average of 65 points per game. “I think since coming to New York, we have a standard that we hold ourselves to, and I think we’ve only continued to grow and develop that chemistry,” said Stewart. “Defense is like a pride thing and really makes it tough for the other team to get easy looks or get out and transition. So, I am just proud of the way that this team plays on both sides as well.” “We spoke about the expectations that we wanted from this group tonight, and I thought we were pretty consistent with that,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said on Tuesday. “Overall, it’s attention to detail. I think we’re very intentional with how we want to play and when we get away from it, well, I think we are quick to get back to it and it starts on the defensive end. “For the most part, Brondello added, “I thought we had a physical presence. We were being disruptive. We got a lot more deflections tonight and, and when we have high deflections, we usually do quite well.” The Women’s EuroBasket tournament will take place from June 18-29. The Liberty will lose Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally to the tournament as they play for Germany… The 2024 WNBA Finals MVP Jonquel Jones has missed two of the team’s first nine games, most recently with a right ankle injury. She had averaged 13.9 points and 10.3 rebounds in seven games before the fluke. After the Fever, the Liberty will host the Atlanta Dream in Brooklyn next Tuesday.
Sabalenka cited windy conditions as one of the causes for her 70 unforced errors. Gauff countered that portrayal by maintaining she pressured Sabalenka into some of these misfires. “I know that when I play on a windy day, you’re not going to win by hitting winners, you’re not going to win by playing pretty tennis …You kind of have to make her make those mistakes.” A rivalry between the two stars has begun in earnest. With Wimbledon, the next Grand Slam, starting in London, England on June 30, the anticipation for a possible rematch will be palpable.
New York Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu and forward Kennedy Burke had 23 and 15 points, respectively, in their team’s 85-66 win over the Chicago Sky at the Barclays Center on Tuesday night. (Brandon Todd photo)
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doorstep of the finals before locking in his replacement. But Rose doesn’t yet have an agreement with a new head coach. Media reports surfaced on Wednesday, specifically from ESPN, that the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks had denied the Knicks’ request to speak with, respectively, Ime Udoka, Chris Finch and Jason Kidd, those teams’ head coaches.
The uncertainty and amateurish approach to vice gripping a new head coach conjures memories of past Knicks regimes and elicits anxiety from a fan base that once had unshakable faith in Rose but today is looking at him side-eyed and with skepticism. Because he doesn’t speak with the media regarding Knicks business, what blueprint Rose has for the team moving forward is protected as securely as U.S nuclear launch codes. Very few know what he is endeavoring or going to do. Consequently, the bloom could fade off of Rose.
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THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S
St. John’s Jamora Alves earns a return trip to the NCAA Championships By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews For the second time in her collegiate career, St. John’s University junior Jamora Alves has qualified for the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., which began yesterday. She earned her spot in the discus with an outstanding performance at the NCAA East Regional. She previously competed in the championships her freshman year. “It means everything to me because from the start I was working toward this,” said Alves. “I did more work in the weight room, like increasing the weights. Extra exercise, more core and being consistent.” Alves competes in both the shot put and discus, and her discus season has been dominant. She not only earned Big East Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors but was also named Most Outstanding Women’s Field Performer of the Meet at the Big East Championships. She is looking forward to meeting track and field athletes from around the country at the NCAA Championships. “I get to be more
said. “We had a freshman (Leyre Campo de Quevedo) who was our first in program history to be a Big East Female Cross Country Athlete of the Week.” At the start of indoor track and field season, Nora Haugen broke her own school record in the 800 meters and Alves broke the school record for the shot put, which had stood for more than 15 years. The student-athletes carried that momentum into the outdoor season. “We finished third to DePaul and UConn at [Big East Championships] with the most points we had scored at a Big East Outdoor conference meet, and we made some headway in areas we don’t typically score a lot in,” Pompey noted. “We had points all over the track and all over the field. That spoke to how complete the team was this year.” Pompey and throws coach Lexia Robinson will accompany Alves to the NCAA Championships. Earning this spot was no surprise, Pompey said. “She’s been locked in exposed to the sport,” said Alves, Eugene, Alves emphasized drills Pompey, said overall, this has and ready to go most of the year. who credits having patience and and core work. been a good year. “We had some She was working on a few technibeing consistent as key elements St. John’s director of track early bright spots, starting with cal issues that came together toto her success. Before leaving for & field/cross country, Aliann our cross country [runners],” she wards the end. She’s been good.” Former LSU softball standout Danieca Coffey on opening day of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. (Skylar Kade/AUSL photo)
Athletes Unlimited Softball League receives impactful investment from MLB By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews Opening day for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) was Saturday, June 7, but the grand slam news preceded the first pitch when it was announced that Major League Baseball (MLB) was making a strategic investment in the league. MLB will work together with AUSL to raise the league’s visibility. This will include marketing, events, online content and viewership. It will also promote softball at all levels, engaging more girls and women in the sport nationwide. “This is a watershed moment for women’s sports and especially for softball,” said AUSL commissioner Kim Ng. “MLB’s investment will supercharge our efforts to build the sustainable professional league this sport has long deserved and sends a powerful message about the value of female athletes and the importance of creating professional opportunities for them.” Some icons of the sport will be an active part of this AUSL
season as Olympic medalists Lisa Fernandez and Cat Osterman serve as GMs and Stacey Nuveman-Deniz and Kelly Kretschman as coaches. ESPN is a broadcast partner and will carry at least 30 games on television platforms such as ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. This is exciting for rookie Danieca Coffey, a recent graduate from Louisiana State University (LSU), who was drafted by the Volts. “Being around [veteran players], I think their confidence level is crazy high, so just being around them and seeing how confident they are in their game has made me more confident in myself, realizing what I bring to the table,” said Coffey, a five-year letter winner at LSU. Coffey described herself as a slapper not a power hitter, so she is focusing on what made her successful in the collegiate game. Over time, she will improve all aspects of her game, but for now she’s intent not to pretend to be something she isn’t. At LSU, Coffey played infield. As a pro, she will be a utility player.
Former LSU softball standout Danieca Coffey on opening day of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. (Skylar Kade/AUSL photo)
“Being able to play any position just to get on the field is my thing this pro season,” she said. “Being diverse and unique and thriving wherever I’m at.” The AUSL has four teams —
Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volt. Each will play 24 games. The top two teams will compete for the AUSL Championship. Following that championship, 60 players will compete for an individual cham-
pionship (similar to the setup of Athletes Unlimited Basketball) in the AUSL All-Star Cup. This year, the league will play in multiple cities. The plan for 2026 is to become a city-based league.
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Coco Gauff takes down a bitter Sabalenka to earn her second Grand Slam title By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor While Coco Gauff illuminated championship grace, it was a bad look by Aryna Sabalenka. More bluntly, Sabalenka displayed a lack of class and dishonored her sport after losing the French Open championship to Gauff on Saturday on the clay court at Roland-Garros. The 21-year-old Gauff, who was born in Atlanta and moved with her parents (Candi and Corey Gauff) back to their hometown of Delray Beach, Florida when she was seven, won her second career Grand Slam singles title in defeating Sabalenka 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-4. Gauff became the first American woman to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015. Gauff’s first Grand Slam championship was at the 2023 US Open, also coming against Sabalenka. “I didn’t think honestly that I could do it,” Gauff said on the court after etching her name among the all-time greats. “I also felt like this is the one I really wanted, because I do think this was one of the tournaments that,
when I was younger, that I felt I had the best shot at winning.” Maybe falling for a second time in a Grand Slam final to the No. 2-ranked Gauff is why Sabalenka, the world’s No. 1 ranked women’s player, slouched in her chair right after the match and less than one hour later could not suppress her hubris and acknowledge the talents of Gauff. “I think she won the match not because she played incredible,” said the 27-year-old from Belarus, whose three Grand Slam titles came at the 2023 and 2024 Australian Open, and 2024 US Open. “Just because I made all of those mistakes, if you look from the outside, from kind of easy balls.” To compound the denial, Sabalenka puzzlingly asserted that if No. 7-ranked Iga Swiatek from Poland, who Sabalenka bested 7-6, 4-6, 6-0 in the semis, had faced Gauff in the finals, she would have beaten her. On Sunday, Sabalenka, undoubtedly advised by her public relations team or someone else in her See COCO GAUFF on page 38
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AM News Coco Gauff holds up the 2025 French Open championship trophy. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
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The usually meticulous Knicks front office seems uncertain in their coaching search By JAIME C. HARRIS Special to the AmNews
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has been a primary candidate of the Knicks’ coaching search. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
From the time Leon Rose was hired by team owner James Dolan in March 2020 as Knicks president, the Cherry Hill, New Jersey native has operated the franchise methodically and meticulously — the antithesis of some his recent predecessors, namely Isiah Thomas, Steve Mills and Phil Jackson, intelligent but impulsive men whose visions of building the Knicks into a championship contender were fraught with unstable leadership, imprudent coaching hires and failed player acquisition. Rose, while not perfect, has been nearly flawless in the aforementioned facets, particularly his decision to sign head coach Tom Thibodeau to be the Knicks’ locker room and bench shepherd. Thibodeau,
named the Knicks’ head coach in July 2020, was the AMright Newsman to bring respectability and 5/22/25that credibility to a franchise had become a mockery, finishing 21-45 in the 2019-2020 COVID-shortened campaign the year before and missing AM News the playoffs the previous seven seasons. 5/29/25 Thibodeau led the Knicks to the Eastern Conference semifinals last year and the franchise’s first conference finals in 25 years this season. But AM News apparent unresolvable philosophical differences between 6/5/25 Rose and Thibodeau resulted in the latter being let go by Rose and Dolan on June 3. Apparently, outcomes in the AM News standings and elevation in the postseason 6/12/25 weren’t the most critically important determinants considering
the year-over-year ascension of the team under Thibodeau. So now, for the first time in his tenure with the Knicks, Rose doesn’t seem to have a definitive and executable plan to secure his next head coach. When it was announced that he had parted ways with Thibodeau, Rose was rightfully afforded the benefit of doubt by a multitude of Knicks fans and media that he already had Thibodeau’s successor secured. The prevailing view was that it would be illogical for Rose to terminate a coach who had taken the team to the
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